Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) - Analysts at William Blair increased their Q3 2017 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Moody’s Corporation in a research report issued on Monday. William Blair analyst T. Mchugh now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.26 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.23. William Blair also issued estimates for Moody’s Corporation’s Q4 2017 earnings at $1.33 EPS.
MCO has been the subject of several other research reports. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Moody’s Corporation from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $131.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Moody’s Corporation in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Moody’s Corporation in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Moody’s Corporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 19th. Finally, Barclays PLC reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price target (up from $128.00) on shares of Moody’s Corporation in a report on Monday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.29.
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Moody’s Corporation (NYSE MCO) opened at 130.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.43 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $93.51 and a 1-year high of $135.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $128.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.80.
Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 21st. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $968.78 million. Moody’s Corporation had a negative return on equity of 167.31% and a net margin of 12.63%. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 18th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Moody’s Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.29%.
In related news, insider Raymond W. Mcdaniel sold 45,216 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.03, for a total transaction of $5,834,220.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 292,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,716,759.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Goggins sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.79, for a total transaction of $5,839,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 106,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,405,550.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 184,777 shares of company stock valued at $22,642,272 over the last three months. 1.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BLS Capital Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Moody’s Corporation during the fourth quarter worth about $23,947,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation by 1.2% in the first quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,696 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Capstone Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation by 0.4% in the first quarter. Capstone Asset Management Co. now owns 13,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA bought a new position in shares of Moody’s Corporation during the first quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation by 9.6% in the first quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 21,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,430,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. 88.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Moody’s Corporation
Moody’s Corporation (Moody’s) is a provider of credit ratings; credit, capital markets and economic related research, data and analytical tools; software solutions and related risk management services, quantitative credit risk measures, financial services training and certification services, and research and analytical services to financial institution customers.
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