Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,465,507 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 30,392 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $143,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted 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 period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO opened at $95.26 on Monday. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $106.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.97. The company has a market cap of $69.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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 issued a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Bank of Montreal 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.