William Blair Has Optimistic Outlook of Moody’s Q4 Earnings

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) – William Blair increased their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Moody’s in a report released on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $2.54 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.18. The consensus estimate for Moody’s’ current full-year earnings is $12.39 per share.

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

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target for the company. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.36.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE MCO opened at $485.84 on Thursday. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $503.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $480.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $472.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.03 billion, a PE ratio of 44.37, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.30.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 8.4% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,923,000 after buying an additional 2,379 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 59.5% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 31,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,246,000 after acquiring an additional 11,743 shares in the last quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 0.7% in the second quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wick Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $215,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,524 shares of company stock worth $1,178,413 in the last ninety days. 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.