Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 64.7%, selling 34,533 shares and leaving a holding of 18,808 shares valued at roughly $1.37 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Weiss Ratings upgraded BNS to Buy and RBC raised its price target to $106, while Canaccord downgraded to Hold — MarketBeat's consensus remains a Hold with a $106 target.
• Scotiabank beat quarterly estimates with $1.48 EPS versus $1.42 expected and revenue of $7.40 billion versus $6.99 billion, and the stock trades around a $94.2 billion market cap with a P/E of about 15.9.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 64.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,808 shares of the bank's stock after selling 34,533 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $1,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BNS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS opened at $76.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $94.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $72.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $78.55.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 12.40%.The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada's largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank's core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.