The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Bought by Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,249 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,694 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises about 2.2% of Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $6,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BNS. Sprott Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $146,907,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,256,868 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 360.3% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 705,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,753,000 after purchasing an additional 551,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

BNS traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $46.66. 660,585 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,089,574. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.43. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $39.79 and a 12 month high of $51.98. The stock has a market cap of $57.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.04. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 10.71%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.7843 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.72%. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.96%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company 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.