Forsta AP Fonden Cuts Stake in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 180,600 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 34,000 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $23,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Code Waechter LLC boosted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 17,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 4.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 3.6% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE BMO opened at $162.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $148.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.17. The company has a market capitalization of $113.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94. Bank Of Montreal has a 12 month low of $104.08 and a 12 month high of $163.75.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.98 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 13.04%. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is 50.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BMO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Zacks Research lowered Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Profile

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.