Forum Financial Management LP Sells 5,848 Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

Forum Financial Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 37.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,635 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,848 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,801 shares of the bank's stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,155,791 shares of the bank's stock valued at $54,819,000 after buying an additional 60,506 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,938 shares of the bank's stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,629 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,216,000 after buying an additional 8,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,438 shares of the bank's stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.36. The company had a trading volume of 2,296,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,782,217. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $53.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.92. 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 1-year low of $43.68 and a 1-year high of $57.07. The company has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.12.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its quarterly 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.7996 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.68%. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is currently 94.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BNS has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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. Bank of America downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.