William Blair Estimates Moody’s’ FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:MCO)

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) – Equities researchers at William Blair upped their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Moody’s in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $12.40 for the year, up from their prior forecast 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.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.36.

Moody’s Stock Performance

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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,524 shares of company stock worth $1,178,413. Corporate 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.