3,760 Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Key Points

• Banque Pictet & Cie SA reduced its Moody’s stake by 5.3%, selling 3,760 shares and retaining 67,541 shares valued at approximately $30.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.11% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $551.26, although RBC and Jefferies recently lowered their targets to $575 and $560, respectively.
• Moody’s recently exceeded quarterly expectations with $4.68 EPS and $2.19 billion in revenue, while investors await the next earnings report, with consensus estimates near $4.25 EPS. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share.

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lowered its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,541 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,760 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in Moody's were worth $30,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.3% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,440 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,949 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co grew its position in shares of Moody's by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,706 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Moody's

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody's this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lowered its price target to $575 from $610 but maintained an “outperform” rating. The revised target still implies substantial upside from Moody’s recent trading level, signaling that RBC views the pullback in expectations as a valuation adjustment rather than a change in the company’s long-term outlook. Benzinga analyst ratings report
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is preparing for Moody’s third-quarter earnings report on October 21, with consensus calling for approximately $4.25 in earnings per share. Investors are focused on whether continued demand for credit ratings, research and risk-management products can sustain the company’s recent double-digit revenue growth and strong profitability. Moody’s Q3 2026 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings coverage is highlighting estimates for revenue, operating margins and other key metrics beyond headline EPS. These previews could increase volatility around the October 21 report, particularly if Moody’s delivers strong earnings but offers cautious guidance. Zacks Moody’s Q3 estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies reduced its Moody’s price target to $560 from $610. The cut may weigh on sentiment because it reflects more limited upside following the stock’s recent advance, although the new target remains above the current share price. Jefferies Moody’s price-target update
• Negative Sentiment: Additional commentary from BMO Capital Markets and other analysts has emphasized a more cautious valuation outlook, reinforcing concerns that expectations and the stock’s premium valuation leave less room for an earnings disappointment. BMO Moody’s forecast

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,370,620. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $587.00 to $594.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $551.26.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $484.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $83.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $477.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $466.64. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody's had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.56 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.13%.

Moody's Profile

Moody's Corporation NYSE: MCO is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, and analytical tools. Through Moody's Ratings, the company evaluates the creditworthiness of companies, governments, financial institutions, and structured finance securities, offering opinions and research used by investors, issuers, and other market participants.

Through Moody's Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, risk assessment tools, data, and software. Its products support credit and market risk management, compliance, portfolio analysis, lending, insurance, and corporate planning.

Moody's traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody published an analysis of railroad securities.

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