Moody's CEO Robert Fauber Exercises Options, Sells Shares

What Happened

• Robert Fauber, President & CEO and a director of Moody's Corporation (MCO), exercised stock options and sold common shares on August 3, 2026. He exercised a total of 1,167 option shares (592 at $113.34 and 575 at $167.50) and sold 1,467 shares in open‑market transactions at $484.30 per share. The open‑market sales generated total proceeds of $710,468; the strike amounts for the exercises totaled about $163,410. Some derivative entries show $0, reflecting the conversion/cancellation of option interests.

Key Details

• Transaction date: August 3, 2026 (reported on Form 4 filed August 4, 2026).
• Open‑market sales: 300 shares ($484.30) = $145,290 and 1,167 shares ($484.30) = $565,178; total sales ≈ $710,468.
• Option exercises: 592 shares at $113.34 (≈ $67,097) and 575 shares at $167.50 (≈ $96,313); total strike cost ≈ $163,410.
• Derivative disposals at $0 shown for the 592 and 575 share items reflect the option-to-stock conversion/cancellation.
• Shares owned after the transactions: not specified in the provided filing excerpt.
• Footnotes: (F1) the sales were made pursuant to a Rule 10b5‑1 trading plan adopted July 30, 2025; (F2) the exercises and sales were also pursuant to that 10b5‑1 plan; (F3) related options vest one‑fourth each year beginning on the date indicated.
• Filing timeliness: Reported the day after the transactions; no late filing flag indicated.

Context

• The filing shows an exercise of options followed by sales under a prearranged 10b5‑1 plan. When options are exercised and shares are sold immediately under a plan, this is typically a planned, routine disposition rather than a contemporaneous trading decision.
• For retail investors: purchases (insider buys) are often more informative about personal bullish conviction; these entries document a planned option exercise and sale that produced cash proceeds for the insider.