Forum Financial Management LP Grows Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 50.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,483 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 5,180 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $690,746,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,433,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $406,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,700 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,758,150,000 after purchasing an additional 969,488 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,582,696 shares of the bank’s stock worth $138,689,000 after buying an additional 708,999 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 370.0% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 883,511 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,391,000 after buying an additional 695,519 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BNS has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE BNS opened at $47.46 on Friday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $43.68 and a 52 week high of $57.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.02.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.7415 dividend. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.05%.

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.