Gold Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,335 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 18,398 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for approximately 2.9% of Gold Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Gold Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $7,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 50,716 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,764,000 after buying an additional 2,668 shares in the last quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at $256,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,563,594 shares of the bank's stock valued at $85,201,000 after purchasing an additional 509,120 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 28.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 359,146 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,819,000 after purchasing an additional 79,854 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the bank's stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Securities raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BNS traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.91. 862,594 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,806,765. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $52.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.74. The company has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.05. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $55.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.768 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.70%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.88%.

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.