Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Shares Purchased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in its own shares by 11.2% during the first quarter, owning a total of 71,286 shares valued at $3,380,000.
• The stock received a downgrade from "hold" to "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, with a consensus price target of $81.00.
• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its quarterly dividend to $0.7996, up from $0.74, offering an annualized yield of 5.7%.

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,286 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 7,208 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $3,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BNS. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter worth approximately $52,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,175 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth $81,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter valued at about $95,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the bank's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.4%

BNS stock traded up $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $55.78. 1,293,282 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,814,265. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.34. The stock has a market cap of $69.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $44.09 and a 12-month high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.7996 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is 94.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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.