Analysts Set Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Price Target at $544.29

by · The Markets Daily

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $544.2941.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MCO

More Moody’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Moody’s will host a June 8 Q&A session focused on its generative AI strategy, including partnerships and product innovation. That could reassure investors that the company is investing in higher-growth, technology-enabled offerings. Article Title
  • Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain moderately optimistic on MCO, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and price targets above the current share price, which may help support the stock. Article Title
  • Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s chief economist warning that a potential Iran war could cost U.S. households about $100 billion is more of a macro commentary than a direct company-specific catalyst, so its stock impact is unclear. Article Title
  • Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by CEO Robert Fauber and SVP Richard Steele may create a modest negative signal, even though both transactions were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. Article Title
  • Negative Sentiment: Moody’s has lagged the broader broker-dealers and securities exchanges group over the past year, and that relative underperformance may be keeping some investors cautious. Article Title

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. 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 a total of 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Moody’s by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,041,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 647,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Moody’s by 135.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,837,000 after purchasing an additional 26,388 shares in the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,275,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in Moody’s by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 52,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,299,000 after purchasing an additional 6,663 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $448.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $78.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Moody’s has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $446.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $470.59.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

About Moody’s

(Get Free Report)

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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