Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Acquired by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 138.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,851,629 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,816,385 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal makes up 2.5% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.67% of Bank of Montreal worth $407,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 1st quarter valued at $70,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock opened at $89.99 on Tuesday. 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. The company has a market cap of $65.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.76.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 by ($0.12). The company 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%. Bank of Montreal’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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. This represents a $4.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BMO. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank lowered Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $123.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Desjardins cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.