The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its BNS stake by 23.4% in the first quarter, selling 1.63 million shares and retaining 5.34 million shares valued at approximately $369.7 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard, Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse, and Artemis Investment Management, increased their holdings; hedge funds and institutions collectively own 49.13% of BNS.
• BNS reported quarterly EPS of $1.47, exceeding the $1.42 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $7.24 billion. Analysts maintain an average “Hold” rating with a $117 price target.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 23.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,336,643 shares of the bank's stock after selling 1,632,753 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.43% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $369,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 285,843 shares of the bank's stock worth $21,109,000 after purchasing an additional 41,443 shares in the last quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 85.7% during the 4th quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA now owns 246,523 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,166,000 after buying an additional 113,765 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,237,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,221,440,000 after buying an additional 1,169,073 shares in the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 129,807 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,586,000 after buying an additional 23,925 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 556,645 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,055,000 after buying an additional 155,410 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BNS. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $86.89 on Tuesday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $55.21 and a 12-month high of $90.47. The company has a market cap of $106.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company's 50-day moving average price is $84.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.63.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.13 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 13.16%. Bank of Nova Scotia's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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