Equities Analysts Set Expectations for Moody’s Q3 Earnings

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) – Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn issued their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Moody’s in a report released on Wednesday, October 1st. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mazzoni anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $3.54 per share for the quarter. Seaport Res Ptn currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Moody’s’ current full-year earnings is $13.95 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Moody’s’ Q4 2025 earnings at $3.08 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $14.00 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $4.19 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.05 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.12 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.63 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $16.00 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.74 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $4.57 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $4.62 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $18.00 EPS.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.28 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays upped their target price on Moody’s from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 target price on shares of Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.21.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $485.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $503.47 and a 200-day moving average of $481.87. Moody’s has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 7,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,712,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 762 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 42.9% during the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,238.38. This represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value of $1,893,114.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at $4,195,619.90. The trade was a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,812,135. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

About Moody’s

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.