Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Seaport Res Ptn

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) was upgraded by research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

MCO has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Moody’s from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on Moody’s from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody’s from $595.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays raised their price target on Moody’s from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 price target on Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $541.21.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $481.55 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody’s has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $504.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $481.48. The company has a market capitalization of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.42.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.28 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Moody’s will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value of $1,893,114.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. This trade represents a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 87.2% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 200,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $100,414,000 after buying an additional 93,244 shares during the period. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth $301,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 12.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,184,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the period. 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.