AMF Tjanstepension AB Reduces Stock Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

AMF Tjanstepension AB lowered its position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 218,606 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 45,333 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $11,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BNS. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 260.1% during the third 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 last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 24.9% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 2,346,995 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,361,752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195,604 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,438,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $241,981,000 after acquiring an additional 660,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,640,471 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $310,817,000 after acquiring an additional 524,496 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BNS. Bank of America raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $48.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $57.07. The firm has a market cap of $60.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.77%.

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.