Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Raised to $565.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $495.00 to $565.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the business services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.04% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $523.73.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $499.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $486.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $474.51. Moody's has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company has a market cap of $89.92 billion, a PE ratio of 43.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate 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 added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Moody's by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,715,000 after purchasing an additional 10,350 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Moody's by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 123,444 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $58,434,000 after buying an additional 26,249 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,273 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,620,000 after buying an additional 4,527 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,956,684,000 after buying an additional 63,820 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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