Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,218,646 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 48,088 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $119,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 100.1% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,646 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 5,825 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 684,568 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,741,000 after purchasing an additional 106,031 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth about $690,746,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,007 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on BNS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:BNS opened at $47.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.33. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $43.68 and a 12 month high of $57.07. The company has a market capitalization of $59.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.7415 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 82.77%.

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.