The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Sold by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,710,790 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,037,503 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises 2.0% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.62% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $420,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,015,877 shares of the bank's stock valued at $881,082,000 after buying an additional 2,361,136 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank's stock valued at $690,438,000 after purchasing an additional 683,946 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,074,518 shares of the bank's stock valued at $550,729,000 after acquiring an additional 240,803 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew 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 period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.4% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,004,496 shares of the bank's stock worth $207,349,000 after purchasing an additional 277,218 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BNS shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.3 %

BNS traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $56.30. 1,152,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,786,158. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $56.44. The company has a market cap of $70.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's fifty day moving average is $53.15 and its 200-day moving average is $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last issued 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 company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were given a $0.768 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.46%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.88%.

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.