The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 337,650 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 25,056 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $18,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,640,471 shares of the bank's stock worth $310,817,000 after purchasing an additional 524,496 shares during the last quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 38,283.3% in the 4th quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. now owns 476,721 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,586,000 after buying an additional 475,479 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,095,285 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,839,000 after buying an additional 77,820 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at about $292,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the bank's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded down $1.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,802,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,673,873. 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 company has a market capitalization of $58.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.45 and a 200 day moving average of $52.16. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $43.68 and a 1-year high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.7415 per share. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.