Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Raised to $534.00

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $509.00 to $534.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the business services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.72% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $536.20.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $6.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $514.84. 196,520 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 797,844. The company has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $488.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.07. Moody's has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.15% and a return on equity of 60.37%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 2.3% during the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 26,073 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,078,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.3% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,556 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,790,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the second quarter worth $217,000. Dohj LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the second quarter worth $342,000. Finally, TI Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Moody's during the second quarter valued at about $201,000. 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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