Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Moody’s currently carries an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 19 firms, with 12 buy ratings and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is about $541.83.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, posting $4.33 EPS versus the $4.22 consensus, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion. Moody’s also issued FY2026 EPS guidance of $16.40 to $17.00.
• Insiders recently sold shares, including CEO Robert Fauber and SVP Richard G. Steele, though insiders still own only 0.14% of the company. Meanwhile, institutional investors hold the vast majority of the stock at 92.11%.

Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $541.8333.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Tuesday, May 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody's

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 22.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,926 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,129,000 after acquiring an additional 3,773 shares during the period. Militia Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the first quarter valued at approximately $643,000. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.5% in the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 5,176 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.8% in the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 6,849 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,988,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, DV Trading LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 250.0% in the first quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 560 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Up 0.1%

MCO stock opened at $451.20 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $450.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $468.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody's has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) 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. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 29.53%.

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.

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