Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Raises Holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 235.5%, owning 18,268 shares valued at $874,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Bank of Nova Scotia recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.7996 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.72%.
• Despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.8%, the bank missed earnings expectations for the latest quarter, reporting $1.06 EPS compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 235.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,268 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 12,823 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,801 shares of the bank's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $54,819,000 after buying an additional 60,506 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,629 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,018 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 14.8% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,634 shares of the bank's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BNS traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $55.36. 535,322 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,031,798. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.19. The company has a market cap of $68.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.59 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were given a $0.7996 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio 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.