Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Stock Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,880 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,030 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.05% of Moody's worth $46,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Moody's by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its stake in Moody's by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,258 shares of company stock worth $610,936 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 2.1 %

MCO stock traded up $9.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $437.45. The stock had a trading volume of 107,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,991. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93. The company's 50 day moving average is $471.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $475.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $78.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Equities research analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody's's payout ratio is 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Moody's in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $524.86.

About Moody's

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.