Bank Of Montreal $BMO Holdings Cut by Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,674,225 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 100,644 shares during the quarter. Bank Of Montreal comprises about 3.6% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned 0.24% of Bank Of Montreal worth $217,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BMO. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,018,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,364 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 166.3% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 411,108 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,518,000 after acquiring an additional 256,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 5,614.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BMO. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 0.4%

BMO opened at $165.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $152.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.27. The company has a market cap of $115.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.95. Bank Of Montreal has a 1 year low of $104.08 and a 1 year high of $167.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.98 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 13.04%. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.96%.

Bank Of Montreal Company 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.