Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Share Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $477.40 and traded as high as $489.88. Moody’s shares last traded at $488.5850, with a volume of 864,478 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Moody’s from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $505.00 target price (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $552.63.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.4%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $477.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $467.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The company has a market cap of $84.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. Moody’s’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.11%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,370,620. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.