BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 381,293 Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Key Points

• British Columbia Investment Management Corp reduced its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 35.5% during the first quarter, holding approximately 692,516 shares worth $32.84 million at the end of the quarter.
• Bank of Nova Scotia has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, with a consensus price target of $81.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.7996 per share, up from the previous $0.74, representing an annualized yield of 5.5%.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lowered its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 35.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 692,516 shares of the bank's stock after selling 381,293 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.06% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $32,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BNS. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the first quarter valued at $52,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 38.4% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,175 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the first quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,343 shares of the bank's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.74. The company had a trading volume of 3,339,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,999,243. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.14. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $55.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.86. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $44.09 and a 52 week high of $62.34.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.09. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 8.83%.The business had revenue of $6.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 7th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BNS. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia 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.