Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

MCO has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $381.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Moody’s from $344.00 to $333.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Moody’s from $346.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Moody’s from $399.00 to $366.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $332.00 to $318.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $351.54.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $361.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. Moody’s has a 1-year low of $272.70 and a 1-year high of $363.19. The company’s fifty day moving average is $326.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The business services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.08. Moody’s had a net margin of 26.42% and a return on equity of 55.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael L. West sold 2,754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.38, for a total transaction of $931,898.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,396 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,038.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,546 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.82, for a total transaction of $862,635.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,628,574.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 2,754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.38, for a total value of $931,898.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,841,038.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,903 shares of company stock worth $6,270,468. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Natixis purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 4,900.0% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 90.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Investors Service and Moody's Analytics. The Moody's Investors Service segment publishes credit ratings and provides assessment services on various debt obligations, programs and facilities, and entities that issue such obligations, such as various corporate, financial institution, and governmental obligations, as well as and structured finance securities.