Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Cut to $560.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $660.00 to $560.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.69.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $439.77 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $443.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $478.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $78.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total transaction of $642,208.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,489 shares in the company, valued at $33,046,819.53. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.