Prudential PLC Has $906,000 Stock Holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 19.6%, holding 19,111 shares worth $906,000 after selling 4,656 shares in the first quarter.
• Bank of Nova Scotia reported a $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing estimates, while its revenue was $6.59 billion, below the consensus of $8.98 billion.
• The bank recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.7996 per share, resulting in a 5.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 94.72%.

Prudential PLC cut its position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 19.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,111 shares of the bank's stock after selling 4,656 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 133,828 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,345,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 120,236 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,700,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,418,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,449,880 shares of the bank's stock valued at $116,198,000 after purchasing an additional 86,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,168,917 shares of the bank's stock valued at $340,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441,302 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $56.77 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $44.09 and a 52 week high of $57.07. The company's 50 day moving average price is $55.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.14.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last posted 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). 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.7996 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is 94.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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