1,799,344 Shares in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Purchased by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,799,344 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $96,529,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.14% of Bank of Nova Scotia at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,095,285 shares of the bank's stock valued at $58,839,000 after buying an additional 77,820 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the bank's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,438 shares of the bank's stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $888,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Cibc World Mkts lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS stock opened at $51.75 on Tuesday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $43.68 and a 52-week high of $57.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.14.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.7415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.73%. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is currently 83.05%.

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.

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