American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 6.5%, owning 359,620 shares valued at approximately $17 million.
• Bank of Nova Scotia recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.7996 per share, raising the annualized dividend yield to 5.5%.
• Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia's rating from "hold" to "sell", with an average target price of $81.00.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 359,620 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 21,970 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $17,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tacita Capital Inc increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.3% in the first quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 31,887 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,513,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,327,412 shares of the bank's stock valued at $252,685,000 after buying an additional 177,542 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 146.0% in the first quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 12,042 shares of the bank's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 7,146 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,683.5% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 71,674 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,399,000 after purchasing an additional 69,099 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.8%

BNS stock opened at $57.6350 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.14. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $44.09 and a 12 month high of $57.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.08). Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.7996 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.72%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BNS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.