Moody's Corporation $MCO Position Cut by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG trimmed its stake in Moody's by 18.8% in Q4, selling 2,858 shares and leaving 12,354 shares valued at $6.313 million; institutional investors own 92.11% of the stock.
• Q1 beat and capital return: Moody's reported $4.33 EPS versus $4.22 expected with revenue up ~8% YoY, set FY2026 guidance of $16.40–$17.00, and boosted its share buyback authorization to $2.5 billion while citing analytics and AI as growth drivers.
• Insider selling and market view: Insiders (including the CEO and an SVP) sold a total of 8,222 shares (~$3.79M) over the last 90 days; analysts rate Moody's a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $544.47, and the stock trades at a P/E of 32.45 with a market cap of about $80.6 billion.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG trimmed its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,354 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,858 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Moody's were worth $6,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Moody's by 1,222.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $154,499,000 after buying an additional 299,724 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Moody's by 340.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $135,198,000 after buying an additional 219,251 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Moody's by 10,311.9% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $94,260,000 after buying an additional 195,926 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 18.4% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $555,052,000 after buying an additional 181,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Moody's by 70.6% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 401,396 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $191,259,000 after buying an additional 166,159 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $452.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The stock's fifty day moving average is $445.73 and its 200-day moving average is $477.00.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCO. Mizuho cut their target price on Moody's from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $489.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their price target on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.47.

More Moody's News

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

• Positive Sentiment: EPS beat and record Q1 performance: Moody’s reported $4.33 EPS (above consensus) and delivered record first-quarter results with revenue up ~8% year-over-year — a core driver supporting the stock. Moody’s Beats Q1 Forecasts as Revenue and Earnings Top Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Share buybacks accelerated: management increased the buyback authorization to $2.5 billion, a capital-return move that supports EPS and signals confidence from the board. Moody's Boosts Buybacks To $2.5 Billion Following Q1 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analytics and AI tailwinds: management cited strong analytics demand and progress integrating AI into product offerings — longer-term growth levers that investors prize. MCO Q1 deep dive: AI integration and ratings demand drive growth amid volatility
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 guidance reiterated and essentially in line with Street: Moody's set EPS guidance of 16.40–17.00, a range that tracks near consensus and reduces uncertainty but offers limited upside surprise. Moody's profit rises on strong analytics growth, lifts annual forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend declared: Moody’s set a quarterly dividend of $1.03 (ex-div May 15, payable June 5), a modest yield that supports total-return investors but is not a major catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Top-line nuance and rising costs: some metrics showed revenue not meaningfully above consensus (mixed reads across outlets) and operating expenses increased in the quarter — factors that likely tempered the rally despite the EPS beat. MCO Q1 Earnings Beat on Rising Analytics Demand & Higher Issuances

Moody's 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.

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