Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Stock

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $573.00 to $595.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the business services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.57% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $536.20.

Moody's Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $6.98 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $514.86. The company had a trading volume of 177,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 797,715. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $488.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.07. The stock has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.46, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Moody's has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. The business's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Moody's will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Moody's by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody's by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in Moody's by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 762 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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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