Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,820,344 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,282 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.31% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $205,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BNS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,438,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $241,981,000 after purchasing an additional 660,097 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 580,664 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,673,000 after buying an additional 63,528 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,074,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $550,729,000 after acquiring an additional 240,803 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 524,496 shares during the period. Finally, Galibier Capital Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 38,283.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BNS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $48.17 on Friday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $57.07. The stock has a market cap of $60.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.45.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.7415 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.77%.

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.