Morgan Stanley Lowers Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target to $489.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $526.00 to $489.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 11.24% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $547.94.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Moody’s stock traded down $4.52 on Tuesday, hitting $439.59. The company had a trading volume of 192,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,180. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $385.61 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $451.69 and a 200-day moving average of $479.86.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,046,819.53. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stance Capital LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 2,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,468,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 13,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,895,000 after buying an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Moody’s by 210.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,735 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,294,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.