Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on MCO. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $397.75.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $370.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $67.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $385.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $368.64. Moody’s has a 1 year low of $296.45 and a 1 year high of $407.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Markel Corp lifted its position in Moody’s by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 212,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 6.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter worth about $1,078,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 8.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 30,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,457,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.