Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Raises Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,283 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 77,820 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 216,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,525,000 after buying an additional 2,686 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,248 shares of the bank’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 2,126,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,137,000 after purchasing an additional 44,800 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BNS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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 note on Wednesday. Barclays raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of BNS stock opened at $49.68 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.35. 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 capitalization of $61.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.07. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.7415 per share. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 68.06%.

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.