Oppenheimer Issues Positive Forecast for Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock Price

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its target price upped by Oppenheimer from $543.00 to $545.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays upped their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.14.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.3 %

MCO stock opened at $479.15 on Friday. Moody’s has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $479.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $467.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.82 billion, a PE ratio of 43.76, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,243 shares of company stock worth $1,045,326 in the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd 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. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.