Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co Makes New Investment in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co bought a new stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,144,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 87.1% in 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. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1,866.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $491.00 to $496.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.58.

Trending Headlines about Moody’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Moody’s to $600 from $530 and maintained an overweight rating, signaling confidence in the company’s earnings power and upside potential. Benzinga report on JPMorgan price target hike
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary around Q2 suggests stronger global bond issuance volumes, which could support Moody’s ratings and analytics revenue through higher investment-grade, high-yield, and structured-finance activity.
• Positive Sentiment: Several previews ahead of earnings highlight Moody’s as a financially strong company with solid growth prospects, and analysts are broadly bullish on the stock heading into the report. Article on bullish analyst views
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are waiting for Moody’s Q2 2026 earnings, with coverage focusing on whether the company can beat estimates and justify its premium valuation. Seeking Alpha earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s also issued a warning on rising Indonesia risks despite the country’s 2.85% deficit target, but this looks more like a macro risk update than a company-specific catalyst. Yahoo Finance article on Indonesia risks
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary notes that Moody’s is trading at a rich earnings multiple ahead of its report, which may weigh on the stock if results do not clearly exceed expectations. Motley Fool valuation article

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $489.25 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $462.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.09. The company has a market capitalization of $85.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.