Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $553.75.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.90, for a total transaction of $286,867.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,473,809.80. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $1,097,101,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $395,096,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,716,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $876,775,000 after purchasing an additional 726,971 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 315.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,424,000 after purchasing an additional 317,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1,222.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,499,000 after purchasing an additional 299,724 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MCO opened at $447.25 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $497.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $493.81. Moody’s has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $79.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.44.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

More Moody’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — EPS of $3.64 topped consensus and revenue rose ~13% with record Investors Services revenue, supporting near-term fundamentals and earnings guidance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management set upbeat FY2026 profit guidance and cited strong demand for credit ratings and M&A activity — this underpins forward growth expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth drivers highlighted: AI integration and expanded decision‑grade data offerings are being cited as contributors to recurring revenue and product differentiation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase announced — Moody’s raised its quarterly payout ~9.6% to $1.03, signaling confidence in cash flow and returning capital to shareholders. (Ex-dividend date March 2)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst target revisions and model updates are rolling in ahead of/after the print; some firms adjusted forecasts (mixed impact as revisions reflect both beat and longer-term assumptions). Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target from $600 to $560 but kept an “overweight” rating — this narrows upside expectations while still signaling conviction in the name. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Post-earnings pullback was anticipated by some analysts/comments — Seeking Alpha and others note investor profit-taking and that the stock may be re-pricing 2026 assumptions despite the beat. Article Title

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.