Signaturefd LLC Cuts Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Signaturefd LLC cut its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,076 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BMO. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,783,968 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,247,154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,298 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 14,495,589 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,435,002,000 after buying an additional 738,579 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 14,042,593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,184,774,000 after acquiring an additional 679,340 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,191,193 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,294,121,000 after acquiring an additional 468,761 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 10.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,297,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $278,141,000 after acquiring an additional 301,391 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.9 %

BMO stock opened at $93.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $94.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.05. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $73.98 and a fifty-two week high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $1.1172 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 62.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BMO shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays started coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

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.