Candriam S.C.A. Sells 411 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,438 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 411 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal during the second quarter worth $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Securities downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com lowered Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $123.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO stock opened at $84.33 on Thursday. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $73.98 and a twelve month high of $100.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.11.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.25 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 8.50%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.123 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $4.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.33%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.58%.

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.