BNP Paribas Financial Markets Cuts Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 89.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 439 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,618 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $43,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,494,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,960,491,000 after buying an additional 576,744 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,615,141 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,709,215,000 after acquiring an additional 486,984 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,014,633,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,838,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $664,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 6,616,614 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $642,016,000 after acquiring an additional 704,197 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $107.81 on Wednesday. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $76.98 and a fifty-two week high of $108.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.05. The company has a market capitalization of $77.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal 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 is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BMO shares. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “sector perform” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.50.

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.