Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $486.96, but opened at $475.44. Moody’s shares last traded at $468.55, with a volume of 145,035 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $85.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $478.15 and a 200-day moving average of $437.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Conning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.0% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.6% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 960 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Moody’s by 0.5% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 25 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.