Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 2,037,503 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 20.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,710,790 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,037,503 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for approximately 2.0% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $420,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,388.9% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 102.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at about $104,000. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BNS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS opened at $56.12 on Wednesday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $56.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $69.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.15 and a 200-day moving average of $49.25.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were paid a $0.768 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.47%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 74.88%.

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.