The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Stake Lifted by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,287,198 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 171,539 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $68,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,361,752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195,604 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% in the second 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 during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 24.9% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,757,961 shares of the bank’s stock worth $640,624,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,995 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,074,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $550,729,000 after acquiring an additional 240,803 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,281,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $424,497,000 after acquiring an additional 57,796 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

NYSE BNS opened at $54.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.35. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $57.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.7535 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.49%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 72.45%.

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.