Moody’s Corporation $MCO Position Decreased by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 32.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 129,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 61,570 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $58,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Moody’s News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating and lowered its price target modestly from $580 to $575, still implying approximately 17% upside from the referenced trading level. Bank of America Moody’s rating
• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s management highlighted strong AI-related activity: issuance tied to AI infrastructure reportedly increased fourfold year over year, while refinancing needs in the U.S. and Europe exceed $5 trillion. These trends could support future demand for Moody’s ratings, data and analytics products. Moody’s long-term investor takeaways
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, equivalent to $4.12 annually and a referenced yield of approximately 0.8%, providing a modest shareholder-return benefit.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst target changes were mixed but generally supportive: Deutsche Bank raised its target from $559 to $561, while Morgan Stanley lifted its target from $470 to $480. Morgan Stanley’s target remains below the referenced share price, suggesting limited near-term upside under that valuation. Deutsche Bank target change Morgan Stanley target change
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.14 missed the $4.25 consensus estimate, while revenue of $2.02 billion fell short of the $2.08 billion forecast. Revenue rose only 0.8% year over year, increasing concern about slowing growth and cost pressure. Moody’s Q3 earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary from Seeking Alpha argued that MCO’s roughly 30-times earnings valuation may already reflect its high business quality, limiting upside unless growth accelerates materially. Moody’s valuation analysis

Moody’s Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $489.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $478.07 and a 200 day moving average of $468.09. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $552.63.

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.