Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.03

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 10th. 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) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This is a 9.6% increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94.

Moody’s has raised 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 dividend payout ratio of 26.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Moody’s to earn $15.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.4%.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.5%

Moody’s stock traded down $2.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $477.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,788,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,843,135. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $84.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.44. Moody’s has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $493.68 and a 200 day moving average of $492.12.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.90, for a total transaction of $286,867.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,473,809.80. This represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other 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.