By treating the periodic Riccati equation $${\rm\dot{z}=a(t)z^2+b(t)z+c(t)}$$ as a dynamical system on the sphere S, the number and stability of its periodic solutions are determined. Using properties of Moebius transformations, an exact algebraic relation is obtained between any periodic solution and any complex-valued periodic solution. This leads to a new method for constructing the periodic solutions.