Investors Research Corp Lowers Stock Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Investors Research Corp cut its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,037 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO stock opened at $97.70 on Tuesday. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $106.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $99.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.67.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.09%.

Bank of Montreal Company 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.