Oppenheimer Issues Positive Forecast for Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Stock Price

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from $523.00 to $552.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Oppenheimer's target price indicates a potential upside of 10.94% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho initiated coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $521.33.

Moody's Trading Down 1.0%

MCO stock traded down $4.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $497.57. 694,440 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 764,780. Moody's has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $474.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $472.19.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Moody's will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,690 shares in the company, valued at $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,048 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,214,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Moody's by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,981,000 after acquiring an additional 4,544 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,259 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Moody's by 7.9% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,849 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,528,000 after buying an additional 5,095 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody's by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 994,384 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $470,712,000 after purchasing an additional 31,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

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.