Blair William & Co. IL Cuts Stake in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 39.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,884 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,221 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth about $380,000. Baskin Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 134.2% during the 1st quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 4,256 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the 1st quarter worth about $282,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 185.1% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 55,745 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,410,000 after acquiring an additional 36,195 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bank Of Montreal in the first quarter valued at approximately $606,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on BMO shares. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays downgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “sector perform” rating for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.50.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

Bank Of Montreal stock opened at $112.73 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $80.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $110.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Bank Of Montreal has a 12 month low of $80.97 and a 12 month high of $115.66.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84. The firm had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.79 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 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 Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.1801 per share. This represents a $4.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.13%.

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.