Aviso Financial Inc. Purchases 36,128 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Aviso Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 347,013 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 36,128 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for approximately 0.9% of Aviso Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $18,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,361,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195,604 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 24.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,346,995 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,259,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $551,766,000 after acquiring an additional 184,761 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position 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 valued at $434,196,000 after acquiring an additional 385,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,640,471 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $310,817,000 after acquiring an additional 524,496 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target 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. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. 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, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of BNS opened at $47.24 on Friday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $43.67 and a 52 week high of $57.07. The firm has a market cap of $58.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.45. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.7415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.28%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 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.