Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Now Covered by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 17.84% from the company’s previous close.

MCO has been the topic of several other research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price objective on Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.47.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $517.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $459.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.37. Moody’s has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Moody’s will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Moody’s by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.