Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,500 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,800 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,470 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 19,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 22,677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 27,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on BNS shares. Barclays upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $56.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.42 and a 200 day moving average of $49.41. The company has a market cap of $70.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.768 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.88%.

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.