Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Sets New 52-Week High on Strong Earnings

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $520.00 and last traded at $510.52, with a volume of 9931 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $505.44.

The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.36.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,601,631.48. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $540,051. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCO. Norges Bank bought a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $988,750,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 74,000.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,935,000 after purchasing an additional 723,721 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 12.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 92,060.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,112,000 after acquiring an additional 612,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 32.0% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 502,891 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $483.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $477.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31.

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.