Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 40.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 507,340 shares of the bank's stock after selling 340,552 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.07% of Bank of Montreal worth $49,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC increased 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 shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BMO. Scotiabank started coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "sector perform" rating on the stock. 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. CIBC lowered Bank of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $103.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.13. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $106.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. Bank of Montreal's revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is currently 57.35%.

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.

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