Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Stock Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,629,370 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,139 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.22% of Bank of Montreal worth $136,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 881,992 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 32,603 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,226,000 after purchasing an additional 13,718 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 463,792 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,888,000 after purchasing an additional 14,735 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the first quarter worth $3,997,000. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 7.9% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 4,535 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:BMO opened at $86.87 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.84. The stock has a market cap of $63.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $73.98 and a 12 month high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 by ($0.12). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $1.123 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $4.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Desjardins lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.75.

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.