Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 473,310 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,783,625 shares of the bank's stock after selling 473,310 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises about 1.0% of Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 1.19% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $793,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BNS. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 15,483 shares of the bank's stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 5,180 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 17,905 shares of the bank's stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 13,918 shares of the bank's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter worth about $96,529,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 4,648 shares of the bank's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE:BNS traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.71. 2,196,559 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,710,552. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.08. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $43.68 and a 12 month high of $57.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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 given a $0.7415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.63%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.