Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO – Get Rating) – Analysts at William Blair decreased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Moody's in a report issued on Tuesday, January 31st. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $11.05 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $11.30. The consensus estimate for Moody's' current full-year earnings is $9.33 per share.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Argus reduced their price target on Moody's from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody's from $259.00 to $235.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Moody's from $329.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Moody's from $260.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 26th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Moody's from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.67.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's (NYSE:MCO – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. Moody's had a return on equity of 62.08% and a net margin of 25.13%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. Moody's's revenue was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Moody's's payout ratio is 37.63%.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Moody's by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,809 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,618,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 12.7% during the second quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 310 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 11.1% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 1.0% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 13.3% in the third quarter. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd now owns 323 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 90.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Moody's Corp. engages in the provision of credit ratings, research, tools and analysis to the global capital markets. It operates through the following segments: Moody's Investors Service (MIS) and Moody's Analytics (MA). The MIS segment is a credit rating agency, which publishes credit ratings on debt obligations and the entities, including various corporate and governmental obligations, structured finance securities and commercial paper programs.

Recommended Stories

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Moody's (MCO)
• Cathie Woods' Ark Innovation ETF Set To Rebound in 2023?
• Mullen Automotive Stock Gains Momentum On Positive News
• Harley-Davidson Inc. Stock, Is It Time To Buy?
• The Bottom Is In For Meta Platforms, Volatility Is Not Over
• Analyzing Alaska Air's Recent Earnings

Receive News & Ratings for Moody's Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Moody's and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.