Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 39,725 Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 44.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,396 shares of the bank's stock after selling 39,725 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $2,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $690,746,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter worth $96,529,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,433,171 shares of the bank's stock worth $406,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,700 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,758,150,000 after acquiring an additional 969,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,582,696 shares of the bank's stock worth $138,689,000 after acquiring an additional 708,999 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $54.30. 1,642,625 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,729,511. The company has a market cap of $67.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.13. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $43.68 and a 52-week high of $57.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company's 50-day moving average price is $50.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.91.

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be given a $0.7996 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.89%. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.51%.

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.