64,345 Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• PineStone Asset Management reduced its Moody’s stake by 2.8%, selling 64,345 shares, but still owned 2.22 million shares valued at approximately $1.01 billion. Institutional investors collectively hold 92.11% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $551.26, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• Moody’s recently exceeded quarterly expectations with $4.68 EPS and $2.19 billion in revenue, while investors await the next earnings report and monitor valuation concerns. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.03, yielding about 0.8%.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,219,616 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 64,345 shares during the period. Moody's accounts for approximately 6.7% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned 1.28% of Moody's worth $1,007,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in Moody's by 0.3% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,440 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,949 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased 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 valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,364 shares in the company, valued at $23,370,620. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Moody's from $512.00 to $470.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on Moody's from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Moody's from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $551.26.

Moody's News Roundup

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

Moody's Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:MCO opened at $484.71 on Friday. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $83.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $477.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $466.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The business's revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.56 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.92 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Moody's's payout ratio is 26.13%.

Moody's Profile

Moody's Corporation NYSE: MCO is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody's Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody's Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody's traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.

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