Romano Brothers AND Company Decreases Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Romano Brothers AND Company decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,633 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,413 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $5,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3,375.0% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 417 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 117.5% during the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $137.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Desjardins lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays started coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.50.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $83.85. 1,258,951 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 658,217. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $73.98 and a 12-month high of $100.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $61.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.97.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.10). Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 11.60%. The firm had revenue of $5.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.96 billion. Analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.125 per share. This represents a $4.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.25%.

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.