Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) PT Raised to $510.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price target increased by stock analysts at UBS Group from $495.00 to $510.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.89% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.62.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $468.36. 170,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 740,823. Moody’s has a 1 year low of $298.86 and a 1 year high of $495.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $478.09 and a 200-day moving average of $437.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Moody’s will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.