BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 2,716,154 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp trimmed its stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 85.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 453,454 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,716,154 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned 0.06% of Bank of Montreal worth $43,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,865 shares of the bank's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,355 shares of the bank's stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the bank's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,049 shares of the bank's stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the bank's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $103.90. 554,398 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 849,417. The company has a market cap of $75.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $106.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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 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 firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on BMO. Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "sector perform" rating for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $128.40.

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.