Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Stock Position Lessened by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,210 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 26,886 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $7,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BMO. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:BMO opened at $97.60 on Wednesday. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $106.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $99.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.18.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMO has been the topic of several recent research reports. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Company 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.