Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 49,872 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,954,624 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 49,872 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.32% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $180,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $54.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $39.79 and a 1 year high of $54.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.30 and its 200 day moving average is $47.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

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.