JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 1,441,302 Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 25.2%, acquiring an additional 1,441,302 shares to own 7,168,917 shares total, worth approximately $340,022,000.
• Bank of Nova Scotia reported earnings of $1.06 per share for the latest quarter, missing estimates by $0.08, while also seeing an 8.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The bank recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7996 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 5.7%, with a dividend payout ratio of 94.72%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 25.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,168,917 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 1,441,302 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.58% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $340,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BNS. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.3% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,801 shares of the bank's stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.5% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 holdings 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, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,634 shares of the bank's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

NYSE BNS traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.77. 1,150,931 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,390,457. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $55.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.53. The company has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.14. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $44.09 and a 1-year high of $57.07.

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 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 analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 8.83%. The firm's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were issued a $0.7996 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. 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%.

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.