First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Position in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 272,416 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 15,767 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $36,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 466.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 238 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research cut Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $178.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.48. Bank Of Montreal has a 1 year low of $109.64 and a 1 year high of $184.21.

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

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

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.