Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Bank of America

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price target reduced by Bank of America from $580.00 to $575.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on MCO. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $505.00 price objective (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $552.63.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $483.21 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $478.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $468.20. Moody’s has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The stock has a market cap of $83.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Moody’s will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $419,965.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,370,620. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Slow Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.0% in the third quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 10,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,775,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 241.1% during the 3rd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 81,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,939,000 after buying an additional 57,495 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,161,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. Finally, Carderock Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,445,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Moody’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s reported strong momentum in AI-related infrastructure issuance, which increased fourfold year over year. Management also slightly raised its outlook, while refinancing needs exceeding $5 trillion across the U.S. and Europe could support future ratings and analytics demand. MCO Q3 deep dive: AI infrastructure and analytics drive segment divergence, guidance slightly raised
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating and raised its price target to $561 from $559, indicating analysts still see meaningful upside. Deutsche Bank adjusts Moody’s price target
• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, or $4.12 annualized, providing continued shareholder returns. The yield is approximately 0.8%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. Bank of America, Stifel and Deutsche Bank retained Buy ratings despite trimming or making only modest adjustments to their targets, while Morgan Stanley raised its target to $480, close to the recent trading level. Analysts have conflicting sentiments on financial companies
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter results missed expectations: earnings per share came in at $4.14 versus the $4.25 consensus, while revenue of $2.02 billion fell short of the $2.08 billion estimate. Revenue growth was only 0.8% year over year, raising concerns about near-term operating momentum. Moody’s misses Q3 2026 revenue estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary highlighting Moody’s elevated valuation—around 30 times earnings—has intensified concerns that the stock’s premium price leaves limited room for execution disappointments. Moody’s Q3 earnings emphasize detached valuation

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.