Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.03

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share by the business services provider on Friday, December 11th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th.

Moody’s has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. Moody’s has a dividend payout ratio of 26.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Moody’s to earn $18.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.9%.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $8.11 on Thursday, reaching $489.15. 204,352 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,054,803. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $478.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $467.75. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $84.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 16.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $551.00.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.