UPDATE: Benchmark Downgrades Moody's to Hold

Benchmark is out with its report today on Moody's (NYSE: MCO), downgrading MCO from Buy to Hold.

In its report, Benchmark writes, "Due to the turbulent financial market conditions, bond issuance in the US and Europe has declined sharply in 3Q11, below already low expectations. As a result, we are trimming our 3Q and 2011 revenue and EPS estimates. We lower our rating from Buy to Hold with a new target price of $29 as we believe the unsettled outlook will adversely affect Moody's stock price performance in the near term."

At the time of posting, shares of MCO were trading pre-market at $31.90, down 2.45% from Monday's close.