Moody's Corporation $MCO Stock Bought by Norris Perne & French LLP MI

Key Points

• Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its Moody’s stake by 241.1% in the third quarter to 81,339 shares valued at approximately $36.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.11% of the company.
• Moody’s third-quarter results fell short of expectations, with EPS of $4.14 versus $4.25 expected and revenue of $2.02 billion versus $2.08 billion forecast. However, AI-related infrastructure issuance surged fourfold year over year, and management slightly raised its outlook.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $552.63. Moody’s also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, equivalent to $4.12 annually.

Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 241.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,339 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 57,495 shares during the period. Moody's accounts for 1.6% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in Moody's were worth $36,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the second quarter valued at approximately $914,721,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Moody's by 72.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $471,963,000 after purchasing an additional 454,684 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 5,102.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 286,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $124,860,000 after purchasing an additional 280,712 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Moody's by 275.2% during the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 319,889 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $144,884,000 after purchasing an additional 234,640 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Moody's by 195.1% during the 2nd quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 260,298 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $117,894,000 after purchasing an additional 172,077 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was 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 approximately $23,370,620. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Key Moody's News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s reported strong momentum in AI-related infrastructure issuance, which increased fourfold year over year. Management also slightly raised its outlook, while refinancing needs exceeding $5 trillion across the U.S. and Europe could support future ratings and analytics demand. MCO Q3 deep dive: AI infrastructure and analytics drive segment divergence, guidance slightly raised
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating and raised its price target to $561 from $559, indicating analysts still see meaningful upside. Deutsche Bank adjusts Moody's price target
• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, or $4.12 annualized, providing continued shareholder returns. The yield is approximately 0.8%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. Bank of America, Stifel and Deutsche Bank retained Buy ratings despite trimming or making only modest adjustments to their targets, while Morgan Stanley raised its target to $480, close to the recent trading level. Analysts have conflicting sentiments on financial companies
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter results missed expectations: earnings per share came in at $4.14 versus the $4.25 consensus, while revenue of $2.02 billion fell short of the $2.08 billion estimate. Revenue growth was only 0.8% year over year, raising concerns about near-term operating momentum. Moody's misses Q3 2026 revenue estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary highlighting Moody’s elevated valuation—around 30 times earnings—has intensified concerns that the stock’s premium price leaves limited room for execution disappointments. Moody's Q3 earnings emphasize detached valuation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Moody's from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Evercore upped their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $505.00 price target (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Moody's from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $552.63.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $483.21 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $478.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $468.20. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.11%.

About Moody's

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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