The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Purchased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,047 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.6% during the 3rd 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. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,567,680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,028,861,000 after purchasing an additional 736,807 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 13,387,765 shares of the bank’s stock worth $600,211,000 after purchasing an additional 183,008 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,194,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $368,423,000 after purchasing an additional 314,943 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,145,226 shares of the bank’s stock worth $321,731,000 after purchasing an additional 360,241 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently 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 assumed 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 target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS stock opened at $47.13 on Wednesday. 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 52 week low of $39.79 and a 52 week high of $51.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.65.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. On average, research 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were issued a $0.7843 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.66%. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.47%.

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.