Brokerages Set Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Price Target at $507.36

Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $514.85.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 843 shares of company stock worth $405,455 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE MCO opened at $527.78 on Friday. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $528.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.20, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $483.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $477.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investors Services. The Moody’s Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.