Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $620.00 to $660.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Moody’s traded as high as $541.52 and last traded at $545.0790, with a volume of 44594 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $535.98.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Moody’s from $540.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $524.00 to $570.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total value of $558,934.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,739 shares of company stock worth $841,445 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,000. Finally, Victory Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $501.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $498.97. The company has a market cap of $96.22 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.21 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.