Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by Cwm LLC

Key Points

• Cwm LLC boosted its stake in Moody's (NYSE:MCO) by 65.4% in Q4 to 8,271 shares worth $4.225 million, and institutional investors now own 92.11% of the company.
• Moody's reported Q1 EPS of $4.33 (above the $4.22 estimate) while revenue of $2.08 billion slightly missed expectations, and management set FY2026 EPS guidance of $16.40–$17.00 while increasing the share buyback authorization to $2.5 billion.
• The board declared a $1.03 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.12; yield 0.9%; ex-dividend May 15), insiders have sold 8,222 shares in the past 90 days, and the stock trades with a market cap of $83.27 billion and a consensus target of $542.63 (Moderate Buy).

Cwm LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 65.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,271 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,269 shares during the period. Cwm LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $4,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,170,285 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,228,337,000 after purchasing an additional 163,288 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody's by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,213,661,000 after buying an additional 111,725 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $689,517,000 after buying an additional 91,463 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $555,052,000 after buying an additional 181,305 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 20,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 1.8%

Moody's stock opened at $467.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $444.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $477.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.67 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Key Moody's News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported stronger analytics growth and said profit rose, and management lifted its annual outlook — signaling underlying demand strength that supports earnings durability. Moody's profit rises on strong analytics growth, lifts annual forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Board boosted share repurchase authorization to $2.5 billion after the quarter — a clear capital-return action that typically supports the stock and EPS per share over time. Moody's Boosts Buybacks To $2.5 Billion Following Q1 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets and analysts framed the quarter as a beat on the strength of issuance and analytics demand (record Q1 results cited), supporting near-term revenue and recurring analytics momentum. Moody's Q1 earnings beat, helped by strong issuance environment
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary turned constructive after the print — several analysts highlighted Moody’s resilience and recommended the stock. Analysts Are Bullish on These Financial Stocks: Robinhood (HOOD), Moody’s (MCO)
• Neutral Sentiment: Company issued FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $16.40–$17.00 (range includes street consensus), giving investors a band to model but not a definitive beat vs consensus. Moody's Corporation Achieved Record Results For First Quarter 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: The company held an earnings call and provided color on issuance, analytics demand and macro exposure — useful detail for modeling but no material surprises flagged beyond buybacks/guidance. Moody's Corporation (MCO) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s economists/commentary (e.g., on helium supply and geopolitics) draw attention to franchise research value but are unlikely to move the stock materially on their own. The AI economy runs on helium. The Iran war just created a $650 billion problem
• Negative Sentiment: On a like-for-like basis some data points missed certain street estimates: the press release shows Q1 EPS and revenue that were cited as slightly below some analysts' consensus — a counterpoint investors will watch if execution slips. View Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Operating expenses rose in the quarter (investment in analytics and higher costs), which muted margin upside and could pressure near‑term net margin expansion if revenue growth slows. Moody’s Q1 earnings, revenue ahead of estimates

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded 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 research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $542.63.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.