UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Trims Stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lessened its stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,700 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,700 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $1,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,758,150,000 after purchasing an additional 969,488 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,195,604 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $1,017,933,000 after buying an additional 308,837 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 184,761 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,096,123 shares of the bank’s stock worth $434,196,000 after acquiring an additional 385,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $47.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.30. The stock has a market cap of $59.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $43.68 and a 1-year high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.7415 dividend. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 82.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BNS shares. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company 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.