Raymond James & Associates Decreases Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,561 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,549 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $1,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Eldred Rock Partners LLC bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth about $1,123,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 10,738 shares of the bank’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 19,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,691,098 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,083,057,000 after purchasing an additional 725,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

BNS stock opened at $46.62 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.96 and a 200-day moving average of $46.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $39.79 and a 12 month high of $51.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.7843 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.96%.

Bank of Nova Scotia 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.