Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Raised to $531.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price target hoisted by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $481.00 to $531.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.38% from the company’s current price.

MCO has been the subject of several other research reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $528.77.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO traded down $4.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $518.66. The company had a trading volume of 632,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 721,245. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.98 billion, a PE ratio of 47.37, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $485.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $479.39. Moody’s has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 843 shares of company stock worth $405,455 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.