HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 1,392 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,231 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,392 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 260.1% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 5,480,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $298,575,000 after purchasing an additional 3,958,580 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5,380.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,972,234 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $216,447,000 after buying an additional 3,899,760 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at about $120,463,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 24.9% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,757,961 shares of the bank’s stock worth $640,624,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicola Wealth Management LTD. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 53.3% during the second quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 2,300,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,156,000 after acquiring an additional 800,000 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $53.61 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $66.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.31 and a 200 day moving average of $50.49. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.7535 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 72.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BNS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays raised Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

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.