The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Sold by K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lowered its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 167,713 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,860 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia makes up about 1.4% of K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $8,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BNS. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 919 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 858 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Motco increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,086.2% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 2,491 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BNS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated 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 initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 target price 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE BNS traded up $0.34 on Friday, reaching $46.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,145,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,089,510. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.04. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $39.79 and a 1 year high of $51.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.94 and a 200-day moving average of $46.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.01 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 10.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.7843 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio 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.