JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,034,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 115,332 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.58% of Moody’s worth $492,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 525 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $335,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,065,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 984 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.75.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $450.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $498.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $494.79. The stock has a market cap of $80.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.44. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 63.58%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total value of $305,560.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,527,474.30. This represents a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Moody’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat on both EPS and revenue — non‑GAAP EPS $3.64 (beat) and revenue $1.89B, with revenue up ~13% year‑over‑year; management pointed to strength in Analytics and Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s Non‑GAAP EPS of $3.64 beats
• Positive Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance of $16.40–$17.00 EPS was issued and sits marginally above consensus, providing forward earnings clarity that buoyed sentiment. Benzinga: What’s Going On With Moody’s
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage with a “Buy” and a $550 price target, giving an incremental analyst catalyst and a sizable upside target relative to recent levels. Finviz: Bank of America initiation
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic expansion — Moody’s opened a regional HQ in Riyadh to deepen Middle East presence, supporting long‑run revenue growth opportunities in accelerating local capital markets. BusinessWire: Moody’s Establishes Regional Headquarters
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials and transcript are available for detailed read‑throughs of segment performance, op‑ex cadence and M&A/tech investment plans — useful for investors but not a single short‑term catalyst. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus is roughly a “Moderate Buy,” indicating broadly positive but not unanimous conviction among sell‑side firms. AmericanBankingNews: Analyst Recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary flagged recent share weakness and cautioned that prior pullbacks were expected, indicating lingering investor skepticism on valuation despite the beat. SeekingAlpha: The Drop Was Expected
• Negative Sentiment: Operating expenses rose (management noted higher costs to scale new technologies), which could temper margin expansion if costs persist. Zacks: Q4 Earnings Beat (expenses note)

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.