Shell Asset Management Co. Lowers Stake in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Shell Asset Management Co. reduced its position in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 35.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,611 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,400 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 3.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,194,013 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,567,773,000 after buying an additional 1,196,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bank Of Montreal during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,184,220,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,260,160 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $949,441,000 after buying an additional 1,070,546 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,842,134 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,674,000 after acquiring an additional 939,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,348,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $480,988,000 after acquiring an additional 16,538 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BMO shares. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, January 9th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Natl Bk Canada lowered Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

Bank Of Montreal stock opened at $141.01 on Friday. Bank Of Montreal has a 12-month low of $85.40 and a 12-month high of $146.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $134.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.94.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 11.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 59.56%.

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.