Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 3,537 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,537 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $38,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $31,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’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 $2,380,829.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.25.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $429.91 on Monday. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $76.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $482.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $487.72.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.Moody’s’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

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.