Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.32 EPS

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.43 earnings per share. Moody’s updated its FY 2024 guidance to 11.900-12.100 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $11.90-12.10 EPS.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $466.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $478.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $437.61. Moody’s has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $85.26 billion, a PE ratio of 50.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCO. Barclays upped their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.