Moody's Corporation $MCO Stock: Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Holdings

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Moody’s stake by 38.9% in the third quarter, selling 52,027 shares and retaining 81,716 shares valued at about $37.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.11% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive but more cautious: Moody’s has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $551.26 average price target, while Jefferies and RBC recently lowered their targets. Investors are focused on the company’s upcoming earnings report, with consensus estimates near $4.25 EPS.
• Moody’s recently exceeded quarterly expectations with $4.68 EPS and $2.19 billion in revenue, up 15.1% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.03, equivalent to a 0.8% annual yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,716 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 52,027 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $37,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Moody's by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,024,874,000 after purchasing an additional 72,043 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,420,099 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $643,191,000 after acquiring an additional 33,024 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $471,963,000 after acquiring an additional 454,684 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $458,126,000 after acquiring an additional 168,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $385,188,000 after acquiring an additional 59,121 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,370,620. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $505.00 price objective (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Moody's to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $551.26.

Moody's Stock Performance

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

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Moody's Company 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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