Vertex Planning Partners LLC Sells 6,938 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,990 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,938 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal accounts for 0.8% of Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $3,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,667 shares of the bank’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 7.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 165,148 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,919,000 after purchasing an additional 10,792 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 109.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,939 shares of the bank’s stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 5,705 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,502,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 8,321 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 4,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BMO shares. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO opened at $97.07 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $99.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $106.00. The company has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.57%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.