Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.40 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s updated its FY 2026 guidance to 16.400-17.000 EPS.

Moody’s Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of MCO stock traded up $18.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $477.74. The company had a trading volume of 196,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,241. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $443.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $477.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $85.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total transaction of $642,208.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,489 shares in the company, valued at $33,046,819.53. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Moody’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,370,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,211,023,000 after acquiring an additional 62,798 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,716,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $876,775,000 after acquiring an additional 726,971 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,400,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $715,526,000 after acquiring an additional 20,779 shares in the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $555,052,000 after acquiring an additional 181,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,111,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $567,621,000 after acquiring an additional 21,958 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Moody’s from $660.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.69.

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.