Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock Price Target Cut by Morgan Stanley

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $512.00 to $470.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 2.49% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $505.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $552.81.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.0%

Moody’s stock opened at $458.57 on Wednesday. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $79.43 billion, a PE ratio of 29.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $478.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.17.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%.Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.56 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Moody’s will post 16.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total value of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.4% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 44,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,127,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,252 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,747,000 after buying an additional 1,858 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth $317,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, and analytical tools. Through Moody’s Ratings, the company evaluates the creditworthiness of companies, governments, financial institutions, and structured finance securities, offering opinions and research used by investors, issuers, and other market participants.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, risk assessment tools, data, and software. Its products support credit and market risk management, compliance, portfolio analysis, lending, insurance, and corporate planning.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody published an analysis of railroad securities.