The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,814,054 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,192 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.23% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $145,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 68,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,280,248 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,232,000 after buying an additional 33,490 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 725,489 shares during the period. Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 141.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 38,482 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 22,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foguth Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $905,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BNS shares. UBS Group started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

BNS traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.62. 449,350 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,935,959. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.04. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $39.79 and a 1 year high of $51.98.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.769 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.74%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.72%.

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.