Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Trims Stock Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA trimmed its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 15.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,944 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,214 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $2,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth 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 bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BMO. Barclays cut shares of Bank of Montreal from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "sector perform" rating for the company. CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $129.50.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE BMO traded up $0.60 on Thursday, hitting $108.34. 299,464 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 829,143. The company has a market cap of $78.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.08. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $109.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $99.17 and a 200-day moving average of $98.60. 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 (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.84. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $1.1801 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.48%.

About Bank of Montreal

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.