Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Given New $512.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its target price raised by Robert W. Baird from $490.00 to $512.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on MCO. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $468.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market cap of $85.61 billion, a PE ratio of 51.19, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $478.15 and its 200 day moving average is $437.61. Moody’s has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the 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 directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.