Guardian Capital LP Sells 6,137 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Guardian Capital LP reduced its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,151,876 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,137 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal accounts for 7.8% of Guardian Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Guardian Capital LP owned approximately 0.29% of Bank of Montreal worth $208,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,923 shares of the bank's stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 326,510 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,773,000 after acquiring an additional 5,821 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,327,465 shares of the bank's stock worth $300,137,000 after acquiring an additional 144,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Passumpsic Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 5,142 shares of the bank's stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 450,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 860,796. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. Bank of Montreal's quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BMO. Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. CIBC downgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $128.40.

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.