PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Raises Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 151.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,321 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 14,658 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $2,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 356,924 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,606,000 after acquiring an additional 142,854 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at $229,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,641 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 12,007 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 3,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE BMO opened at $97.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $106.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $99.43 and its 200 day moving average is $94.80.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. Bank of Montreal’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on BMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.40.

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.