Westerkirk Capital Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Westerkirk Capital Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 93.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,064 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 28,300 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,079 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 3,844 shares in the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 89,014 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,561,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 317,254 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,201,000 after purchasing an additional 18,225 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 167,805 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,789,000 after purchasing an additional 8,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 14,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 8,366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMO has been the topic of several recent research reports. National Bank Financial reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

Bank Of Montreal stock opened at $165.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $152.17 and a 200-day moving average of $141.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.95. Bank Of Montreal has a 52-week low of $104.08 and a 52-week high of $167.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 50.96%.

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.