Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,600 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,400 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $1,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the second quarter valued at $40,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 623 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 207.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $94.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $100.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.25. The firm has a market cap of $69.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.25 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a $1.123 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $4.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Securities downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank cut Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $123.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

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.