Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Shares Sold by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada reduced its Bank of Nova Scotia stake by 6.5%, selling 629,165 shares and retaining 9.04 million shares valued at approximately $791.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 49.13% of BNS.
• Analyst sentiment improved, with National Bank Financial and TD Securities upgrading the stock and the consensus rating standing at “Moderate Buy” with a $117 price target.
• Bank of Nova Scotia exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.64 in EPS and $7.52 billion in revenue. The bank also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.14 per share, representing a 4.8% annualized yield.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,044,903 shares of the bank's stock after selling 629,165 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for approximately 2.1% of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. owned about 0.74% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $791,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 85.7% in the 4th quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA now owns 246,523 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,166,000 after buying an additional 113,765 shares during the period. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 178,226 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,460,000 after acquiring an additional 15,100 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,527,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,368,456,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth $142,985,000. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Friday, August 21st. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.7%

BNS stock opened at $94.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $88.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.62. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $62.79 and a 12 month high of $95.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.12.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.11 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The company's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is 58.05%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada's largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank's core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.

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 reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.