Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target to $572.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $610.00 to $572.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on MCO. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho started coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.33.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $424.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $463.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $474.22. Moody’s has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a market capitalization of $76.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 1,392 shares of company stock worth $659,535 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.