Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $507.36.

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $502.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.05 billion, a PE ratio of 45.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody’s has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $505.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $482.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $475.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $540,051. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCO. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 74,000.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,935,000 after acquiring an additional 723,721 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 92,060.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,112,000 after purchasing an additional 612,200 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 32.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $985,115,000 after purchasing an additional 502,891 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 22.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,344,000 after purchasing an additional 430,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.