Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $547.9375.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total value of $642,208.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,046,819.53. 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. Insiders sold a total of 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732 in the last three months. 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 business. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.3%

MCO opened at $438.21 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $450.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $479.56. The company has a market capitalization of $78.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.03, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s has a 52 week low of $385.61 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.62 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

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.