Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Given New $414.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective lifted by Robert W. Baird from $405.00 to $414.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $398.50.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock traded up $4.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $380.56. 793,012 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 756,106. The company has a market cap of $69.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $383.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $373.23. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $296.45 and a fifty-two week high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.3% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.