Connectus Wealth LLC Has $814,000 Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Connectus Wealth LLC trimmed its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO – Get Rating) (TSE:BMO) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,537 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 609 shares during the quarter. Connectus Wealth LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BMO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at $606,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 23,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,569,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at $1,080,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at $16,099,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,896 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. 39.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Friday, May 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$172.00 to C$171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 8th. Desjardins lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$159.00 to C$155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$155.00 to C$157.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 26th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$160.00 to C$155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.77.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $98.97 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.30. The stock has a market cap of $66.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.17. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $90.44 and a 12-month high of $122.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO – Get Rating) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 25th. The bank reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $9.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.69 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 33.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 53.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 2nd will be issued a $1.081 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 1st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.06%.

About Bank of Montreal

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Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers.