Bank Of Montreal $BMO Stock Position Lowered by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its position in Bank of Montreal by 77.2% in Q4, selling 44,170 shares and leaving 13,019 shares valued at $1.69 million.
• Bank of Montreal beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $2.51 (vs. $2.35) and revenue of $7.21B (vs. $6.73B), and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.67 per share (4.4% yield, payable May 26).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but mildly positive — the stock has a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a target price of $163, and institutional investors own 45.82% of the shares.

M&T Bank Corp lessened its position in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 77.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,019 shares of the bank's stock after selling 44,170 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $1,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BMO. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the bank's stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 2,673 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth $1,018,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,364 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 166.3% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 411,108 shares of the bank's stock worth $45,518,000 after buying an additional 256,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 5,614.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the bank's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research raised Bank Of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Bank Of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Bank Of Montreal stock opened at $151.41 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $142.65 and its 200-day moving average is $134.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank Of Montreal has a 12-month low of $93.77 and a 12-month high of $154.48.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 11.76%.Bank Of Montreal's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. Bank Of Montreal's payout ratio is presently 56.56%.

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.

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