Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Hits New 52-Week High at $414.96

Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $414.96 and last traded at $414.96, with a volume of 174960 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $412.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Moody's from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Moody's from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Moody's from $350.00 to $374.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $400.50.

Moody's Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $75.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $388.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $381.14.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 10.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody's

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Moody's by 10.9% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,707 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,029,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Moody's during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,985,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Moody's during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Moody's by 5,054.5% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 567 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Moody's by 0.5% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,237 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,884,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

About Moody's

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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