Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 16.400-17.000 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 16.670. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $460.86 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $443.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $477.24. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $82.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.40 by ($0.07). Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 16.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.69.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compound Planning Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,621 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Moody’s by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,008,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $515,368,000 after acquiring an additional 13,348 shares in the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 98,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,059,000 after acquiring an additional 26,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 21,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,938,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.