Moody's Dividends and Buybacks
Dividend criteria checks 4/6
Moody's is a dividend paying company with a current yield of 0.9% that is well covered by earnings. Next payment date is on 5th June, 2026 with an ex-dividend date of 15th May, 2026.
Key information
0.9%
Dividend yield
3.5%
Buyback Yield
| Total Shareholder Yield | 4.4% |
| Future Dividend Yield | 1.1% |
| Dividend Growth | 10.4% |
| Next dividend pay date | 05 Jun 26 |
| Ex dividend date | 15 May 26 |
| Dividend per share | n/a |
| Payout ratio | 28% |
Recent dividend and buyback updates
Recent updates
MCO: AI Data Moats And Q4 Execution Will Support Durable Upside
Analysts have trimmed Moody's fair value estimate by $2.85 to $535.00. This reflects slightly lower modeled revenue growth, a modestly higher discount rate, and a reduced future P/E multiple, partly offset by a small uplift to long-term profit margin assumptions, in line with recent mixed shifts in Street price targets.Moody's: The Bears Are Losing Their Arguments (Q1 Earnings Review)
Apr 22
MCO 04-2026
Moody's Corporation is a regulatory-moated oligopoly wrapped in a compounding software business. The MIS ratings franchise holds the most durable structural position in financial services: NRSRO designation is a legal prerequisite for capital adequacy calculations in virtually every major financial market globally, the duopoly with S&P has been unbroken for over four decades, and the proprietary century-old default database cannot be replicated at any cost.MCO: AI Productivity And Data Moats Will Sustain Ratings Strength Into 2026
Moody's updated Analyst Price Target moves lower by about $38 to $537.85, as analysts temper assumptions for revenue growth, profit margins and future P/E multiples, while still highlighting solid recent results and competitive strengths in ratings and data. Analyst Commentary Recent research points to a mixed but generally constructive tone around Moody's, with most firms trimming price targets while still recognizing strengths in its ratings and data businesses.MCO: Issuance And Private Credit Demand Will Drive Rating Strength Into 2026
Narrative Update The analyst price target for Moody's has been adjusted to reflect a mix of lower and higher Street targets, including cuts such as the recent reduction at Goldman Sachs and increases from firms citing stronger issuance trends, a favorable environment for Moody's Investors Service, and a more constructive outlook for rating agencies into 2026. Analyst Commentary Recent research on Moody's reflects a mix of optimism around issuance trends and earnings potential, alongside some restraint on valuation and expectations.MCO: Fair Outlook Sees Issuance Strength Balancing Private Credit Ratings Uncertainty
The analyst price target for Moody's has been raised from US$561.68 to US$575.53, as analysts point to solid recent issuance trends, a more favorable earnings outlook for the Moody's Investors Service segment, and sustained interest in the stock from multiple research houses. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research on Moody's reflects a generally positive tone, with several firms lifting price targets and one upgrade in rating, all tied closely to issuance trends and expectations for the Moody's Investors Service segment.MCO: Fair Outlook Balances Issuance Strength With Data And Analytics Uncertainty
The analyst price target for Moody's has been raised from about US$545.50 to roughly US$561.68, with analysts pointing to stronger assumptions around revenue growth, profit margins and a slightly lower discount rate. This is supported by recent research that highlights a constructive outlook for rating agencies, improving issuance trends and Moody's expanding role in data and analytics.Private Credit Evolution And AI Integration Will Shape Market Success
Moody's saw only marginal improvements in both revenue growth and net profit margin forecasts, resulting in the consensus analyst price target rising slightly from $543.40 to $545.50. What's in the News Moody's launched Agentic Solutions, an AI-powered product suite automating and optimizing complex decision-making workflows for regulated industries, enhancing productivity, transparency, and workflow efficiency across finance, risk, and strategy.The Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Second-Quarter Results Are Out And Analysts Have Published New Forecasts
Jul 26
Moody's Corporation's (NYSE:MCO) Business Is Yet to Catch Up With Its Share Price
Jun 02Moody's: Q1, Analytics Strength Offsets Weaker Debt Issuance Outlook (Rating Upgrade)
Apr 24Moody's: A Long Term Compounder At A Hefty Price
Feb 28Moody's Q4: Expect A Beat And Raise
Feb 08Moody's And The Stargate Project: A Potential Catalyst No One Is Talking About
Jan 29Moody's: Overvalued But Still A Hold
Dec 06Moody's Q3 Earnings: Emerging Benefactors And Solid Baseline Results
Oct 23Moody's: Fundamentals Are Better Than Expected, But Valuation Is Still High
Sep 25Moody's: Capitalize On The Upcoming Global Easing Cycle
Aug 28Moody's Corporation: Great Business But Currently Very Expensive
Aug 15Moody's: Q2 Earnings, What To Expect And What I Am Doing As Investor
Jul 20Wide Moat Dividend Growth - What Makes Moody's Such A Powerful Compounder
Jun 10Upcoming Dividend Payment
Stability and Growth of Payments
Fetching dividends data
Stable Dividend: MCO's dividends per share have been stable in the past 10 years.
Growing Dividend: MCO's dividend payments have increased over the past 10 years.
Dividend Yield vs Market
| Moody's Dividend Yield vs Market |
|---|
| Segment | Dividend Yield |
|---|---|
| Company (MCO) | 0.9% |
| Market Bottom 25% (US) | 1.4% |
| Market Top 25% (US) | 4.2% |
| Industry Average (Capital Markets) | 2.1% |
| Analyst forecast (MCO) (up to 3 years) | 1.1% |
Notable Dividend: MCO's dividend (0.9%) isn’t notable compared to the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.4%).
High Dividend: MCO's dividend (0.9%) is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (4.22%).
Earnings Payout to Shareholders
Earnings Coverage: With its reasonably low payout ratio (27.5%), MCO's dividend payments are well covered by earnings.
Cash Payout to Shareholders
Cash Flow Coverage: With its reasonably low cash payout ratio (26.2%), MCO's dividend payments are well covered by cash flows.
Discover strong dividend paying companies
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2026/05/04 18:28 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2026/05/01 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2026/03/31 |
| Annual Earnings | 2025/12/31 |
Data Sources
The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.
| Package | Data | Timeframe | Example US Source * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company Financials | 10 years |
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| Analyst Consensus Estimates | +3 years |
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| Market Prices | 30 years |
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| Ownership | 10 years |
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| Management | 10 years |
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| Key Developments | 10 years |
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* Example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more.
Analysis Model and Snowflake
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Industry and Sector Metrics
Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on Github.
Analyst Sources
Moody's Corporation is covered by 33 analysts. 20 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.
| Analyst | Institution |
|---|---|
| John Eade | Argus Research Company |
| Jeffrey Meuler | Baird |
| Manav Patnaik | Barclays |