Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases 55,202 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 67.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,431 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,202 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $7,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,588.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 124,030 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 27.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 214,957 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,712,000 after buying an additional 46,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth $111,000. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $47.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $58.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.64. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $43.68 and a twelve month high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.7415 dividend. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is 83.05%.

Bank of Nova Scotia 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.