Bank Of Montreal $BMO Shares Sold by Cardinal Capital Management Inc.

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 999,266 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,261 shares during the period. Bank Of Montreal makes up about 4.3% of Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $176,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BMO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,287,878,000 after acquiring an additional 673,248 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,372,601 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,519,180,000 after purchasing an additional 293,575 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,445,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,226,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,500 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Bank Of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,059,320,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,030,219 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $932,242,000 after purchasing an additional 442,812 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $181.33 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $126.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. Bank Of Montreal has a 12 month low of $112.21 and a 12 month high of $184.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $175.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.04.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.14. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 13.04%. The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BMO shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research lowered Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Desjardins reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank Of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.