The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Stake Decreased by Scotia Capital Inc.

Scotia Capital Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,024,260 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 252,981 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises about 4.0% of Scotia Capital Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Scotia Capital Inc. owned approximately 1.13% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $752,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,758,150,000 after buying an additional 969,488 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,361,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195,604 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,966,078 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,017,933,000 after acquiring an additional 308,837 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter worth $690,746,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,259,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $551,766,000 after buying an additional 184,761 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BNS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of BNS stock opened at $46.51 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $43.68 and a 1 year high of $57.07. The stock has a market cap of $57.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.02.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.7415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.38%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.77%.

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.