Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $508,000 Stock Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,451 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,360 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 51,086 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,744,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,287,198 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,689,000 after purchasing an additional 171,539 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth approximately $111,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,361,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195,604 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE BNS opened at $50.86 on Tuesday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $57.07. The stock has a market cap of $63.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.7535 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.93%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.29%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.