William Blair Has Bearish Forecast for Moody's Q3 Earnings

Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) - Research analysts at William Blair decreased their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Moody's in a report issued on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $3.37 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.42. The consensus estimate for Moody's' current full-year earnings is $13.95 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Moody's' Q4 2025 earnings at $2.96 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MCO. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE MCO traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $512.62. 688,529 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 753,171. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.55, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $489.03 and a 200-day moving average of $475.67.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.28 earnings per share.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody's

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 42.9% during the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Company Profile

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.