Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $543.40.

Several research firms have weighed in on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Moody’s from $526.00 to $471.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 target price on shares of Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $597.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Moody’s from $531.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $520.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $488.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $494.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.91 billion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 63.58%. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.21 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total value of $558,934.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,154 shares of company stock worth $1,041,098 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $572,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 10.0% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 41,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,362 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,525,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,272,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.