Korea Investment CORP Cuts Holdings in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP cut its stake in Bank of Montreal by 19.9% in Q3, selling 102,552 shares and leaving 412,512 shares valued at about $53.8 million (0.06% ownership).
• Several other institutions increased positions—most notably CIBC Asset Management, which added 1,070,546 shares to hold 7.26 million shares—and institutional investors now own about 45.82% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $163 target; BMO recently beat quarterly EPS and pays a $1.67 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~4.7%).

Korea Investment CORP lessened its stake in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 412,512 shares of the bank's stock after selling 102,552 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.06% of Bank Of Montreal worth $53,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 18.3% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 739,598 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,015,000 after acquiring an additional 114,458 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 502,382 shares of the bank's stock valued at $65,479,000 after purchasing an additional 134,699 shares during the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 734,616 shares of the bank's stock valued at $95,684,000 after purchasing an additional 63,432 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,260,160 shares of the bank's stock valued at $949,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,939,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, January 9th. National Bank Financial reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO opened at $142.17 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock's 50 day moving average is $138.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.54. Bank Of Montreal has a twelve month low of $85.40 and a twelve month high of $149.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.92.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Bank Of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.79%.

About Bank Of Montreal

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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