Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price objective on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Bank of America started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.75.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.5%

MCO opened at $447.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $79.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $497.07 and its 200-day moving average is $493.81. Moody’s has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total transaction of $305,560.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,527,474.30. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $1,097,101,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $395,096,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Moody’s by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,716,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $876,775,000 after purchasing an additional 726,971 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Moody’s by 315.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,424,000 after purchasing an additional 317,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Moody’s by 1,222.0% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,499,000 after purchasing an additional 299,724 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — EPS of $3.64 topped consensus and revenue rose ~13% with record Investors Services revenue, supporting near-term fundamentals and earnings guidance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management set upbeat FY2026 profit guidance and cited strong demand for credit ratings and M&A activity — this underpins forward growth expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth drivers highlighted: AI integration and expanded decision‑grade data offerings are being cited as contributors to recurring revenue and product differentiation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase announced — Moody’s raised its quarterly payout ~9.6% to $1.03, signaling confidence in cash flow and returning capital to shareholders. (Ex-dividend date March 2)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst target revisions and model updates are rolling in ahead of/after the print; some firms adjusted forecasts (mixed impact as revisions reflect both beat and longer-term assumptions). Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target from $600 to $560 but kept an “overweight” rating — this narrows upside expectations while still signaling conviction in the name. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Post-earnings pullback was anticipated by some analysts/comments — Seeking Alpha and others note investor profit-taking and that the stock may be re-pricing 2026 assumptions despite the beat. Article Title

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.