Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Issues Earnings Results

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22, Zacks reports. Moody’s had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s updated its FY 2025 guidance to 14.500-14.750 EPS.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $471.59 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $494.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $483.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.41 billion, a PE ratio of 40.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value of $1,893,114.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,195,619.90. This trade represents a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,802,876 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Moody’s by 12.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 705,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $354,121,000 after purchasing an additional 80,218 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 190.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 108,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,704,000 after purchasing an additional 71,225 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter worth approximately $32,349,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Moody’s by 49.2% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 62,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,115,000 after purchasing an additional 20,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Moody’s by 9.5% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 183,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,973,000 after purchasing an additional 15,898 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Moody’s from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Moody’s from $531.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Moody’s from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Moody’s from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.40.

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.