Metis Global Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 53,717 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,015 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $2,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,862,189 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,478,304,000 after buying an additional 891,157 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,361,136 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% in 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 last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.6% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.6% during the 2nd 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. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $53.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.05. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $55.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were issued a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BNS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

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.