Brokerages Set Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Target Price at $541.83

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $541.8333.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $450.40 on Monday. Moody’s has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $450.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $466.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s 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.