NBC Securities Inc. Reduces Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

NBC Securities Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,441 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth $229,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,073,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,777,561,000 after acquiring an additional 881,992 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Syon Capital LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the bank’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth $525,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.3 %

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $83.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.12. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $73.98 and a 52-week high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.125 per share. This represents a $4.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.36%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 74.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BMO. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $137.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Desjardins lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.50.

Bank of Montreal Profile

Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company's personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products.