Ossiam Sells 70,982 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Ossiam lowered its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 44.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,239 shares of the bank's stock after selling 70,982 shares during the quarter. Ossiam's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $4,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BNS. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 38,283.3% during the fourth quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. now owns 476,721 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,586,000 after acquiring an additional 475,479 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,095,285 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,839,000 after buying an additional 77,820 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 98.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,438 shares of the bank's stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BNS shares. Cibc World Mkts lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.53. 559,447 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,689,087. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $43.68 and a 1 year 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.41. The stock has a market cap of $60.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.02.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.7415 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.11%. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is 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.