FY2024 Earnings Estimate for Moody’s Issued By William Blair

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) – Equities research analysts at William Blair raised their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Moody’s in a research note issued on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $12.40 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $12.04. The consensus estimate for Moody’s’ current full-year earnings is $12.30 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Moody’s’ FY2025 earnings at $13.50 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $15.33 EPS.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

MCO has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.36.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $484.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $480.50 and a 200-day moving average of $472.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $503.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 74,000.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,935,000 after purchasing an additional 723,721 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 12.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,123,294,000 after buying an additional 723,226 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 32.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $985,115,000 after buying an additional 502,891 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,344,000 after acquiring an additional 430,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,708,851,000 after acquiring an additional 416,535 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413. Corporate insiders own 0.07% 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.