Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $400.50.

Several brokerages have issued reports on MCO. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $350.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $394.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $384.45 and a 200-day moving average of $375.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $407.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 87.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. 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.