BMO Capital Markets Cuts Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Price Target to $507.00

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has lowered Moody's price target from $534.00 to $507.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating, which reflects a potential upside of 7.51% from the current stock price.
• Moody's reported Q3 earnings of $3.92 per share, exceeding the analysts' estimate of $3.70, alongside a revenue of $2.01 billion, which marks a year-over-year increase of 10.7%.
• Investment analysts have varying ratings for Moody's, with one strong buy, twelve buys, and six holds, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $543.47.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $534.00 to $507.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the business services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target indicates a potential upside of 7.51% from the stock's current price.

MCO has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $620.00 price objective on Moody's in a research report on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Moody's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 price objective on Moody's and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Moody's from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $543.47.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $471.59 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $494.68 and a 200 day moving average of $483.55. The company has a market capitalization of $84.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.07, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.41. Moody's has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.21 EPS. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.09, for a total value of $199,652.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,385,939.38. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,802,876. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody's

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody's in the second quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody's in the second quarter worth $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody's in the second quarter worth $28,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Moody's in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's in the third quarter worth $31,000. 92.11% of the stock is 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 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.

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