UBS Group AG Sells 1,608,853 Shares of Bank Of Montreal $BMO

UBS Group AG lowered its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 75.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 518,524 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,608,853 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $67,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,287,878,000 after acquiring an additional 673,248 shares during the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $175,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,899 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,974,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 716 shares of the bank’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BMO shares. Barclays downgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. TD Securities raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE BMO opened at $149.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.10. The company has a market capitalization of $105.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank Of Montreal has a 12 month low of $97.00 and a 12 month high of $154.48.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.16. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.75%.

Bank Of Montreal Profile

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.