Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 48,139 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,629,370 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,139 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $136,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the second quarter valued at $40,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

BMO stock opened at $86.87 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $63.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $73.98 and a 1 year high of $100.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.84.

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

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank cut Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $123.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Bank of Montreal 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.