The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Sold by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund reduced its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,410,966 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,152,371 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises 1.2% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.77% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $430,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,388.9% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Galibier Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 1st quarter valued at about $76,000. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BNS shares. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $54.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.16. The firm has a market cap of $67.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.04. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $39.79 and a fifty-two week high of $55.12.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.768 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 70.72%.

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.