Analysts Set Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) PT at $544.29

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

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $489.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 15.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $450.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $78.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $448.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $475.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

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.