Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Stake Raised by Gold Investment Management Ltd.

Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,669 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises 2.8% of Gold Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Gold Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $6,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 62.4% during the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 237,355 shares of the bank's stock valued at $11,252,000 after purchasing an additional 91,215 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 6,897 shares of the bank's stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 907.4% in the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,124,324 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,362,000 after buying an additional 1,012,715 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 145.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 103,414 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,908,000 after buying an additional 61,326 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the first quarter valued at approximately $174,000. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.7%

BNS traded up $0.36 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.63. The stock had a trading volume of 6,922,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,763,661. 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 has a market capitalization of $69.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's 50 day moving average is $52.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.80. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $43.68 and a one year high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.7996 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.75%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BNS. Bank of America lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.