Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Given New $597.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its target price for Moody's stock from $595 to $597, indicating a potential upside of 23.53% from the current trading price.
• Moody's recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, exceeding analysts' expectations and demonstrating a 4.5% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• Currently, Moody's stock holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with ten Buy ratings and an average price target of $540.71.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $595.00 to $597.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MCO. UBS Group upped their price target on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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. Finally, Barclays upped 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, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $540.71.

Moody's Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MCO traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $480.83. 2,013,050 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 699,185. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $508.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $479.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.07 billion, a PE ratio of 40.85, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.42. Moody's has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the business posted $3.28 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Moody's will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value of $1,893,114.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,209 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,812,135. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody's

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Moody's by 5.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 77,500.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 11.9% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 527,518 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $244,817,000 after purchasing an additional 56,273 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 289.8% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,528,000 after buying an additional 2,440 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Moody's by 7.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,095 shares in the last quarter. 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.