Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 20,894 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,216 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 20,894 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $6,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5,380.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,972,234 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $216,447,000 after acquiring an additional 3,899,760 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $120,463,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,455.8% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,521,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,627,000 after buying an additional 1,462,360 shares in the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 53.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 2,300,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,156,000 after buying an additional 800,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $690,438,000 after buying an additional 683,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BNS. Barclays raised Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $56.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $56.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.34.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were paid a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is 74.88%.

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.