Invesco Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,363,708 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 18,704 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.19% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $126,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,640,471 shares of the bank's stock worth $310,817,000 after purchasing an additional 524,496 shares during the last quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 475,479 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.6% during the fourth 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 acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,556 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BNS. 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 research note 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 note on Monday, March 31st. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,308,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,675,595. The company has a market capitalization of $59.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $48.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.59. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.68 and a 12-month 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.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.7415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.25%. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is currently 83.05%.

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.