Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Acquires 20,192 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,814,054 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 20,192 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.23% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $145,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth approximately $652,409,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,841,901 shares of the bank's stock valued at $970,577,000 after buying an additional 3,731,541 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter valued at $146,907,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at $114,447,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,971,032 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,287,020,000 after buying an additional 1,279,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on BNS shares. StockNews.com cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of BNS stock traded down $0.35 on Wednesday, hitting $45.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 844,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,939,070. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $39.79 and a fifty-two week high of $51.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.65.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 11.40%. Research analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.769 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is 70.72%.

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.