Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Moody's to $489 (from $526) and kept an "equal weight" rating, implying only about an 11.2% upside from the stock's prior close.
• The analyst consensus is still a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $547.94, and individual analyst targets vary widely (roughly $489–$590).
• Moody's recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $3.64 vs. $3.39; revenue $1.89B vs. $1.87B) and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $16.40–$17.00, while shares traded near $439.59 and insiders have been trimming positions.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $526.00 to $489.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the business services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.24% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Moody's from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Moody's from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $547.94.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $4.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $439.59. 192,776 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,327,180. The company has a market cap of $78.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $451.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $479.86. Moody's has a fifty-two week low of $385.61 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total transaction of $642,208.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,046,819.53. This represents 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 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Stance Capital LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 2,873 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Moody's by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 13,496 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Moody's by 210.4% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,735 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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