Keystone Financial Planning Inc. Has $7.27 Million Stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Keystone Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 133,461 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,870 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia makes up 2.2% of Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $7,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds 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 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. City State Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter worth $57,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 102.1% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS stock opened at $51.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.05. 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 Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $41.46 and a 12 month high of $55.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.59.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were paid a $0.768 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.92%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 74.88%.

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.