Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $456.00.
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MCO
Insider Activity at Moody’s
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at about $53,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.3% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 10.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in Moody’s by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 547 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Moody’s Trading Up 0.7 %
Shares of MCO stock opened at $473.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $86.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week high of $474.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $441.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $408.06.
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Moody’s Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.
Moody’s Company Profile
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.
Recommended Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Moody’s
- Market Cap Calculator: How to Calculate Market Cap
- Columbia Sportswear: A Turnaround Story That’s Gaining Ground
- Why Special Dividends Can be a Delightful Surprise for Income Investors
- Lowe’s Stock: Hold Now, Buy it When it Dips
- What Are Dividend Contenders? Investing in Dividend Contenders
- ZIM Shipping Stock Soars as the Industry Shows a Bottoming Trend
Receive News & Ratings for Moody's Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Moody's and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.