Fiera Capital Corp Sells 4,794 Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

Fiera Capital Corp cut its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,252 shares of the bank's stock after selling 4,794 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $3,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 38.4% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,175 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter valued at about $81,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,000. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

BNS traded down $0.15 on Friday, hitting $55.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,626,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,883,793. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $54.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.22. The stock has a market cap of $68.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.14. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $43.67 and a 1-year high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 8.83%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were given a $0.7996 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.