J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Purchases Shares of 9,398 Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired 9,398 shares of the Bank of Nova Scotia, valued at approximately $446,000, indicating increased institutional interest in the bank.
• The Bank of Nova Scotia announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.7996 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.20 and a dividend yield of 5.7%.
• Despite reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $1.06, the bank missed analysts' expectations of $1.14, highlighting concerns about its recent financial performance.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,398 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 25,425,639 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,363,619,000 after purchasing an additional 434,771 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,158,112 shares of the bank's stock worth $718,670,000 after buying an additional 374,487 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,509,995 shares of the bank's stock valued at $242,505,000 after buying an additional 71,866 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,849,592 shares of the bank's stock worth $206,325,000 after buying an additional 537,876 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,582,696 shares of the bank's stock worth $138,689,000 after acquiring an additional 708,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of BNS stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.59. 1,514,003 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,824,282. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $54.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.28. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $44.09 and a twelve month high of $57.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.14. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.08). Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were paid a $0.7996 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. This is a positive change 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. One equities research 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, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.