Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Sold by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,827,757 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 157,299 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal comprises 0.8% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $177,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 261.6% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,449,000 after acquiring an additional 3,074,389 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.9% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,065,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,508 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $760,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $455,397,000 after acquiring an additional 625,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth $48,353,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 2.3 %

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $95.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.72. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $76.98 and a 52 week high of $106.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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