Research Analysts Set Expectations for Moody’s Q3 Earnings

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) – Stock analysts at William Blair lifted their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Moody’s in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, October 15th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now anticipates that the business services provider will earn $2.79 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.33. The consensus estimate for Moody’s’ current full-year earnings is $11.46 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Moody’s’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.17 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James downgraded Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $488.46.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.5 %

MCO opened at $488.46 on Friday. Moody’s has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $495.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $477.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $435.57.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $237,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,235,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 4.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.