The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,059 shares of the bank's stock after selling 25,171 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $8,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,862,189 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,478,304,000 after acquiring an additional 891,157 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,015,877 shares of the bank's stock worth $881,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361,136 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank's stock worth $690,438,000 after purchasing an additional 683,946 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.6% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 14,563,337 shares of the bank's stock worth $753,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,281,724 shares of the bank's stock worth $424,497,000 after purchasing an additional 57,796 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Securities raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:BNS traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $54.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,073,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,803,403. The company has a market capitalization of $66.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 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 $55.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.85.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.768 per share. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.88%.

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.