Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Raised to $374.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its target price increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $350.00 to $374.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MCO. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays raised Moody’s from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $400.50.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $394.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $71.96 billion, a PE ratio of 43.02, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26. Moody’s has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $407.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $384.45 and a 200-day moving average of $375.15.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,425,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 26.6% during the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 7,441 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,925,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 5.9% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,700,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in Moody’s by 68.1% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,673,000 after acquiring an additional 21,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.