Shell Asset Management Co. Grows Stock Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,691 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $1,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BMO. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the 4th 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 boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $102.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $74.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $106.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 57.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sector perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts lowered Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, CIBC cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Hold” 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.