Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Cut to $560.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $600.00 to $560.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

MCO has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.75.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $448.32. The stock had a trading volume of 103,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,272,665. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $497.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Moody’s has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total value of $305,560.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,527,474.30. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and raised 2026 outlook — Moody’s reported stronger‑than‑expected Q4 EPS and issued an upbeat 2026 profit forecast driven by high ratings demand, which supports upside to earnings estimates and investor sentiment. Moody’s forecasts upbeat 2026 profit
• Positive Sentiment: Record revenue in Investors Services and analytics strength — Management highlighted record Investors Services revenue and rising demand for analytics and decision‑grade data, supporting durable revenue growth and margin leverage. Q4 highlights
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product initiatives cited as growth drivers — Deep‑dive coverage notes Moody’s is integrating AI and expanding decision‑grade data products, which management says is lifting cross‑sell and high‑margin analytics revenue. MCO Q4 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increased — Moody’s raised its quarterly dividend ~9.6% to $1.03, signaling confidence in cash flow and returning more capital to shareholders (ex‑dividend March 2).
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst target adjusted but remains constructive — JPMorgan trimmed its price target from $600 to $560 but kept an “overweight” rating, implying meaningful upside remains despite the cut. Benzinga note on JPMorgan
• Negative Sentiment: Rising expenses and valuation sensitivity — Some coverage notes operating expenses rose and the stock already trades at a premium (high P/E), so upside depends on sustained margin recovery and deal/issuance activity; that can leave shares vulnerable to profit‑taking. Zacks on expenses
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term pullback risk flagged by some analysts — A few commentary pieces argue recent strength could be followed by a correction as investors re‑rate expectations into 2026. Seeking Alpha: drop expected

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.