Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Declares $0.85 Quarterly Dividend

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 22nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of 0.85 per share by the business services provider on Friday, September 6th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th.

Moody’s has raised its dividend payment by an average of 11.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Moody’s has a payout ratio of 27.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Moody’s to earn $12.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.1%.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock traded down $18.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $433.81. 1,230,553 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 725,790. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Moody’s has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $458.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $421.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $398.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.21 billion, a PE ratio of 47.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moody’s will post 11.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $448.50.

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.