Brokerages Set Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Price Target at $560.94

Shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $560.9375.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Moody’s from $540.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $574.00 target price on Moody’s and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $524.00 to $570.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.3%

Moody’s stock opened at $523.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $505.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $499.81. Moody’s has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total value of $558,934.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,739 shares of company stock valued at $841,445 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 7,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.