Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Sold by Vertex Planning Partners LLC

Vertex Planning Partners LLC cut its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,990 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,938 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal makes up approximately 0.8% of Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $3,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BMO. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.5 %

BMO stock opened at $97.07 on Friday. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $76.98 and a 52 week high of $106.00. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.