BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Stock Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 1,588.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 861 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $47,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5,380.9% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,972,234 shares of the bank’s stock worth $216,447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,899,760 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter valued at $120,463,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,455.8% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,521,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,627,000 after buying an additional 1,462,360 shares during the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 53.3% in the second quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 2,300,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,156,000 after acquiring an additional 800,000 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $690,438,000 after acquiring an additional 683,946 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BNS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

BNS opened at $53.42 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $66.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $43.67 and a 1-year high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.7535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.64%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 72.45%.

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.