Bank of America Begins Coverage on Moody’s (NYSE:MCO)

Investment analysts at Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 22.20% from the stock’s previous close.

MCO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore increased their target price on Moody’s from $540.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $603.00 to $532.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.75.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $450.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $498.58 and its 200 day moving average is $494.79. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 63.58%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total value of $305,560.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,527,474.30. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $267,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 525 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $335,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Moody’s by 0.4% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,065,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Moody’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat on both EPS and revenue — non‑GAAP EPS $3.64 (beat) and revenue $1.89B, with revenue up ~13% year‑over‑year; management pointed to strength in Analytics and Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s Non‑GAAP EPS of $3.64 beats
• Positive Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance of $16.40–$17.00 EPS was issued and sits marginally above consensus, providing forward earnings clarity that buoyed sentiment. Benzinga: What’s Going On With Moody’s
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage with a “Buy” and a $550 price target, giving an incremental analyst catalyst and a sizable upside target relative to recent levels. Finviz: Bank of America initiation
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic expansion — Moody’s opened a regional HQ in Riyadh to deepen Middle East presence, supporting long‑run revenue growth opportunities in accelerating local capital markets. BusinessWire: Moody’s Establishes Regional Headquarters
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials and transcript are available for detailed read‑throughs of segment performance, op‑ex cadence and M&A/tech investment plans — useful for investors but not a single short‑term catalyst. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus is roughly a “Moderate Buy,” indicating broadly positive but not unanimous conviction among sell‑side firms. AmericanBankingNews: Analyst Recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary flagged recent share weakness and cautioned that prior pullbacks were expected, indicating lingering investor skepticism on valuation despite the beat. SeekingAlpha: The Drop Was Expected
• Negative Sentiment: Operating expenses rose (management noted higher costs to scale new technologies), which could temper margin expansion if costs persist. Zacks: Q4 Earnings Beat (expenses note)

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.