Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Receives "Buy (B-)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Moody's has been given a "Buy (B-)" rating by Weiss Ratings, and multiple analysts have raised their price targets for the stock, with consensus now set at $541.21.
• The company reported a $3.56 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 4.5% revenue increase from the previous year.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with CEO Robert Fauber selling 415 shares valued at approximately $212,749.75, indicating a slight decrease in personal holdings.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating reissued by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $595.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Moody's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 price target on shares of Moody's and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.21.

Moody's Trading Up 0.3%

MCO opened at $489.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.41. Moody's has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $502.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.28 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody's will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total value of $212,749.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,451,077.50. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total transaction of $1,893,114.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. This trade represents a 31.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,413,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,724 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Moody's by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 138,472 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,485,000 after purchasing an additional 59,238 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's by 51.0% in the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 921 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.