Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS reduced its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,180 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $38,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BAM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at about $871,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.6% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,041,000 after buying an additional 10,434 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 647,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,649,000 after buying an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.1% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 73,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,161,000 after buying an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 135.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,837,000 after buying an additional 26,388 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE MCO opened at $467.80 on Thursday. The stock 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $444.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $477.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.67 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Key Headlines Impacting Moody’s

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

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 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 transaction of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.63.

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.