Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Management LLC

Sterling Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 20.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,189 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for 2.7% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Barclays raised their price target on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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 report on Thursday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $523.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $551.26.

Key Moody’s News

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 Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total transaction of $710,468.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $484.71 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $477.91 and a 200-day moving average price 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The company 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%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.56 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.92 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 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.