Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for Moody’s Q4 Earnings

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) – Equities researchers at William Blair raised their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Moody’s in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, October 22nd. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $2.18 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.17. The consensus estimate for Moody’s’ current full-year earnings is $11.46 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Moody’s’ Q1 2025 earnings at $3.48 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.30 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.26 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.84 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $462.80 on Friday. Moody’s has a 1 year low of $298.86 and a 1 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $478.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $438.28. The company has a market cap of $84.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.52, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.43 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 53,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,906,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Moody’s by 42.2% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after buying an additional 1,621 shares in the last quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,035,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

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.