The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,678,400 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 186,224 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $392,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the second quarter worth $40,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 623 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the first quarter valued at about $70,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $90.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $73.98 and a 52-week high of $100.12. The firm has a market cap of $66.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $85.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.75.

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

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business 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 $1.123 dividend. This represents a $4.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 75.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $123.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $137.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.