The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Sold by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 95.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,534 shares of the bank's stock after selling 344,818 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BNS. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,640,471 shares of the bank's stock valued at $310,817,000 after purchasing an additional 524,496 shares in the last quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 38,283.3% in the 4th quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. now owns 476,721 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,586,000 after buying an additional 475,479 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,095,285 shares of the bank's stock valued at $58,839,000 after acquiring an additional 77,820 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth about $292,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 98.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the bank's stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BNS traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.35. The stock had a trading volume of 192,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,880. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $48.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.64. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $43.68 and a one year high of $57.07. The stock has a market cap of $58.97 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.7415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.26%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BNS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on 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 World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.