Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Has $182.32 Million Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,878,964 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 40,986 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal makes up approximately 3.5% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Bank of Montreal worth $182,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMO. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Bank of Montreal during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. CIBC cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Cibc World Mkts lowered Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $99.56 on Monday. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $95.26 and a 200 day moving average of $96.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 57.35%.

Bank of Montreal Profile

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.