Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays upped their price target on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $89.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.12, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $473.62 and its 200-day moving average is $452.29. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 133.9% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $958,481,000 after buying an additional 1,303,434 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 74,000.1% during 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 during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 12.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 723,226 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $985,115,000 after purchasing an additional 502,891 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,107,344,000 after purchasing an additional 430,878 shares during the last quarter. 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.