The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Purchased by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 45.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,759 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,407 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $2,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 383,460 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,671,000 after acquiring an additional 19,812 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter worth $1,782,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 68,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,276,040 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,135,000 after buying an additional 319,232 shares during the period. Finally, JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 13,163,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $643,900,000 after buying an additional 542,398 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BNS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE:BNS opened at $54.07 on Friday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $39.79 and a 52 week high of $54.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $66.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.72%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.