Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Invests $319,000 in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,942 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,758,150,000 after buying an additional 969,488 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,966,078 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,017,933,000 after acquiring an additional 308,837 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter worth $690,746,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,259,279 shares of the bank's stock valued at $551,766,000 after purchasing an additional 184,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,096,123 shares of the bank's stock worth $434,196,000 after purchasing an additional 385,333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $51.92. 117,620 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,699,905. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $43.68 and a one year high of $57.07. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $48.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.7415 per share. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is 83.05%.

Bank of Nova Scotia 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.