The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Acquired by State Street Corp

State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,030 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $6,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $690,438,000 after purchasing an additional 683,946 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,757,961 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $640,624,000 after buying an additional 2,346,995 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,074,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $550,729,000 after acquiring an additional 240,803 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,281,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $424,497,000 after acquiring an additional 57,796 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 260.1% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 5,480,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $298,575,000 after acquiring an additional 3,958,580 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS opened at $53.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.71. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $57.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.45%.

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.