Calamos Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Calamos Advisors LLC opened a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter, buying 24,196 shares valued at about $10.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 92.11% of Moody’s stock, while several firms recently increased their stakes.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Moody’s, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $545.06, even as the stock traded down 0.2% on the day.

Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 24,196 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,556,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Moody's during the second quarter valued at $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,475,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Moody's by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,692,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Moody's by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,423,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCO. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Moody's from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Moody's from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Moody's Trading Down 0.2%

Moody's stock opened at $494.85 on Wednesday. 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 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $456.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.47.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS 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 net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. Moody's's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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