PineStone Asset Management Inc. Sells 64,345 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

PineStone Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. 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 6.7% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,007,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 1,866.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $551.26.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $484.71 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $477.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $466.64. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total transaction of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,166,165.20. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.