J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Invests $446,000 in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,398 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,155,791 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,819,000 after acquiring an additional 60,506 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,629 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 8,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 14.8% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,634 shares of the bank’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 1.0%

BNS opened at $55.98 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.74 and its 200-day moving average is $51.25. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $43.67 and a 52-week high of $57.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.14.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.08). Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 8.83%. The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were given a $0.7996 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.72%.

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.