Bank Of Montreal $BMO Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in Bank Of Montreal (BMO) by 30.8%, now holding 8,309 shares valued at $793,000.
• Bank Of Montreal announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.1801 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%.
• A consensus rating for BMO stock stands at "Hold", with an average price target of $129.50 based on recent analyst reports.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its stake in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 30.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,309 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,698 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BMO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,997,776 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,960,102,000 after purchasing an additional 503,027 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 12,833,065 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,244,284,000 after buying an additional 1,020,712 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,215,628 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,184,636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,962 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,838,171 shares of the bank's stock worth $664,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd grew its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 6,711,773 shares of the bank's stock valued at $651,250,000 after acquiring an additional 426,442 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Bank Of Montreal from $161.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $168.00.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Up 1.4%

Bank Of Montreal stock traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $120.85. The company had a trading volume of 285,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 669,038. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $86.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $112.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.01. Bank Of Montreal has a 1 year low of $81.69 and a 1 year high of $120.84.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.21. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 30th. Bank Of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.53%.

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.