Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $507.36.

Several brokerages recently commented on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE MCO opened at $512.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.83, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $513.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $483.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $477.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total transaction of $138,932.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,601,631.48. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $540,051 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.