Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Sells 5,214 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA cut its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 15.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the first quarter valued at $42,000. Avanza Fonder AB boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 44,232 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 141.6% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,844 shares of the bank's stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 13,403 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the bank's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

BMO stock traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.94. 396,765 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 830,740. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $109.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.08.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.84. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.1801 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is currently 61.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BMO. Barclays cut shares of Bank of Montreal from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. CIBC reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $129.50.

Bank of Montreal Company 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.