The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 11th, 2023

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,547 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,550 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $2,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 59.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 26,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,359 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the first quarter valued at about $366,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 56.3% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,272 shares of the bank’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,619 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 870,918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,462,000 after acquiring an additional 81,002 shares in the last quarter. 45.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

BNS opened at $47.53 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.13 and a 200-day moving average of $51.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $45.26 and a 52-week high of $74.82. The company has a market cap of $56.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.01.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.774 per share. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 3rd. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BNS shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Scotiabank lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Bank of Nova Scotia Profile

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The Bank of Nova Scotia engages in the provision of financial products and services including personal, commercial, corporate, and investment banking. It operates through the following segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, Global Banking and Markets, and Other. The Other segment includes group treasury and smaller operating segments.