Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by Caprock Group LLC

Key Points

• Caprock Group LLC increased its stake by 75.6% in Moody's during Q4 to 9,150 shares (worth $4.675 million), while institutional investors and hedge funds now own about 92.11% of the stock.
• Moody's reported a Q1 EPS beat ($4.33 vs. $4.22), delivered record first-quarter results with revenue up ~8% YoY, boosted its buyback authorization to $2.5 billion, and reiterated FY2026 EPS guidance of $16.40–$17.00.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently, disposing of 8,222 shares (about $3.79 million) in the last three months — including sales by CEO Robert Fauber and SVP Richard Steele — leaving insiders with just 0.14% ownership.

Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 75.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,150 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,938 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $4,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Moody's by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,170,285 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,228,337,000 after buying an additional 163,288 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Moody's by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,213,661,000 after buying an additional 111,725 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Moody's by 6.7% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,447,105 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $689,517,000 after buying an additional 91,463 shares during the period. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its holdings 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 period. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd raised its holdings in Moody's by 1.9% in the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 1,122,423 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $534,812,000 after buying an additional 20,619 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total transaction of $642,208.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,046,819.53. The trade was 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. Insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 3.0%

MCO opened at $452.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.45. The firm's 50 day moving average is $445.73 and its 200-day moving average is $477.00. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (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 net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Moody's from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $489.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.47.

Moody's News Roundup

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 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.

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