BMO Capital Markets Cuts Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target to $507.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its target price reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $534.00 to $507.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MCO. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $520.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Moody’s from $531.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.33.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.3%

MCO stock opened at $490.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $493.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $485.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.41. Moody’s has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 63.58% and a net margin of 29.92%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 30.23%.

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 shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,802,876. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 151.7% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 302 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Moody’s by 25.6% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Tema Etfs LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 75.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tema Etfs LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,226,000 after buying an additional 2,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently 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.