Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $553.1111.

MCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $512.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Moody’s News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s beat second-quarter expectations, reporting $4.68 EPS on $2.19 billion of revenue, with sales up 15.1% year over year. Management also raised its stock repurchase outlook, which signals confidence in cash generation and capital returns. Moodys Corp (MCO) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth and Raised Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue growth was supported by stronger bond issuance activity and steady demand for Moody’s analytics business, reinforcing the company’s “wide moat” positioning and durable growth profile. MCO Q2 Earnings Beat on Rising Analytics Demand & Higher Issuances
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s reaffirmed its FY 2026 EPS outlook of 16.50 to 17.00, which is broadly in line with Street expectations and suggests management sees continued stability after the strong quarter. Moody’s (MCO) Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, underscoring shareholder returns, but this is a routine capital-allocation update rather than a major catalyst. Moody’s declares $1.03 dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear focused on Moody’s lowered 2026 operating margin guidance, which raises concerns that costs may be offsetting some of the company’s revenue strength and helps explain why the shares have been under pressure despite the earnings beat. Moody’s lowers 2026 operating margin guidance, raises stock repurchases outlook

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. DeDora Capital Inc. increased its position in Moody’s by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Down 3.5%

NYSE MCO opened at $472.42 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $464.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $464.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.53 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody’s had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%.The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s will post 16.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

About Moody’s

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.