Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,181 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 593 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $1,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Syon Capital LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth about $525,000. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock opened at $83.77 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.12. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $73.98 and a twelve month high of $100.12. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.10). Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 11.60%. The firm had revenue of $5.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.96 billion. Analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be paid a $1.125 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.37%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BMO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Desjardins lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.50.

About Bank of Montreal

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.