Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.20 EPS

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) released its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.20, Zacks reports. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 11.00%.The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $126.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.11. Bank Of Montreal has a 52-week low of $85.40 and a 52-week high of $131.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BMO. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 155.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,127,377 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $277,091,000 after buying an additional 1,294,169 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 51.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,606,369 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $209,230,000 after acquiring an additional 544,999 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in 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. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 160.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 131,808 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,166,000 after acquiring an additional 81,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 573.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 28,116 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 23,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BMO. Natl Bk Canada lowered Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

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.