Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 467,102 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 81,512 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $22,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sprott Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $146,907,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.7% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,684,313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $665,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,868 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.4% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,567,680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,028,861,000 after purchasing an additional 736,807 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,691,098 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,083,057,000 after purchasing an additional 725,489 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 360.3% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 705,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,753,000 after purchasing an additional 551,992 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE BNS opened at $46.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $39.79 and a one year high of $51.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.52.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.51%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a $0.7843 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.78%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BNS has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

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.