Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 14,273 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,397 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 14,273 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $5,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 59,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,875,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 19,185 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.0% during the third quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,047 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE BNS traded up $0.58 on Monday, hitting $47.43. 1,092,477 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,059,074. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.05. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $39.79 and a 52-week high of $51.98.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.7843 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 69.47%.

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.