Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank trimmed its stake in Moody's by 40.8% in Q4, selling 22,527 shares and leaving 32,750 shares valued at about $16.73 million.
• Q1 results: Moody's beat EPS expectations ($4.33 vs. $4.22) with revenue up ~8% to $2.08B (slightly below estimates), raised buyback authorization to $2.5 billion, and set FY2026 EPS guidance of 16.40–17.00.
• Moody's declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 (annualized yield ~0.9%) and insiders sold 8,222 shares (~$3.79M) last quarter, while institutional investors own about 92% of the stock.

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 40.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,750 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 22,527 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Moody's were worth $16,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the third quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Moody's during the third quarter worth $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Moody's during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the third quarter worth $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Down 3.0%

Moody's stock opened at $452.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.16. 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. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The stock's fifty day moving average is $445.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $477.00.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.Moody's's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given 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 currently 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.47.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total value of $642,208.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,489 shares in the company, valued at $33,046,819.53. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's News Summary

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

About Moody's

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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