Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Acquires New Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,075 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $105,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 3,375.0% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 417 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 117.5% during the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on BMO shares. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Desjardins lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.50.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock traded down $1.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.73. 1,138,921 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,352,153. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $73.98 and a 1-year high of $100.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.96 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.57%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 75.25%.

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.