Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $496.05 and last traded at $494.06, with a volume of 35328 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $494.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.2 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $474.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $453.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s by 3.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 593,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $284,537,000 after acquiring an additional 19,609 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 538.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 55,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,361,000 after purchasing an additional 46,843 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,989,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.