Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Reduces Stock Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,469,657 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 412,402 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.28% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $186,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coleford Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth $11,514,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,850 shares of the bank’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 137,431 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,376,000 after buying an additional 55,202 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 8,608 shares of the bank’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 2,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 40,894 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BNS. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS opened at $47.08 on Thursday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $43.68 and a 1 year high of $57.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.64. The company has a market capitalization of $58.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.02. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.7415 per share. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.05%.

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.