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

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 159.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,955 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 24,547 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $1,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 156,255 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,411,000 after buying an additional 2,264 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,155,791 shares of the bank's stock worth $54,819,000 after purchasing an additional 60,506 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.6% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the bank's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.0% during the first quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 138,669 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,577,000 after buying an additional 6,641 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.0%

BNS traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $56.82. 304,211 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,053,488. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.01. The firm has a market cap of $70.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.12. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $43.67 and a 1 year high of $57.07. 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 (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last announced 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). The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be given a $0.7996 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.63%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.