Moody’s Corporation $MCO Position Increased by Norris Perne & French LLP MI

Norris Perne & French LLP MI lifted its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 241.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 81,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 57,495 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises approximately 1.6% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $36,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 4.8% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 62.4% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% during the third quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,445,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 51.4% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,705,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total value of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at $25,166,165.20. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The sale 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 owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moody’s from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Evercore upped their target price on Moody’s from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $552.63.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $483.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $478.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $468.20.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.11%.

Moody’s News Summary

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

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.