Cardinal Capital Management Inc. Sells 178,185 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 13.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,108,517 shares of the bank's stock after selling 178,185 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal comprises 3.6% of Cardinal Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. owned 0.15% of Bank of Montreal worth $105,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $129.50.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO traded down $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $107.76. 348,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 830,264. The stock has a market cap of $77.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $98.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $109.10.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.84. The company had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.79 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. Bank of Montreal's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 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 Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $1.1801 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.48%.

Bank of Montreal 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.