Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 17,897 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 433,078 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,897 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $21,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BNS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $588,957,000. Sprott Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $146,907,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,996,068 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,940,238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,299 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,684,313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $665,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,170,601 shares of the bank’s stock worth $144,548,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,006 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.5 %

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $46.62 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current 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’s fifty day moving average is $48.96 and its 200 day moving average is $46.30. The company has a market capitalization of $56.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.7843 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 34.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four 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 an average target price of $68.00.

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.