First National Trust Co Purchases 15,676 Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

First National Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 44,415 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,676 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $2,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the second quarter valued at $838,738,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 83.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,148,255 shares of the bank’s stock worth $726,704,000 after buying an additional 5,979,338 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,800,305 shares of the bank’s stock worth $635,730,000 after acquiring an additional 3,007,407 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 555.8% in the 2nd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 3,062,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,984,000 after acquiring an additional 2,595,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 315.0% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 2,873,828 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $159,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,181,312 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BNS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $77.78 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.11. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $44.09 and a 52-week high of $78.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 12.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th were issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.85%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.