Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $544.2941.

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Tuesday.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:MCO opened at $451.55 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $444.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $471.82. The company has a market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Moody’s has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $73,689.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at $999,473.77. This represents a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.