Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Announces Dividend Increase – $1.03 Per Share

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of 1.03 per share by the business services provider on Friday, March 13th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is a 9.6% increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94.

Moody’s has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. Moody’s has a payout ratio of 24.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Moody’s to earn $15.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.1%.

Moody’s Trading Up 6.3%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $450.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market cap of $80.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $498.58 and a 200-day moving average of $494.79. Moody’s has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 63.58% and a net margin of 29.92%.The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.90, for a total value of $286,867.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,473,809.80. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 98,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,059,000 after acquiring an additional 26,685 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 21,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,938,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Braeburn Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $603,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 27,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,126,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.