Newport Trust Company LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Newport Trust Company LLC lessened its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,321,915 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 23,990 shares during the quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $172,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,184,220,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 2,986.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,170,118 shares of the bank’s stock worth $240,009,000 after purchasing an additional 2,099,800 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 3.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,194,013 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,567,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,237 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 19.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,842,134 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,674,000 after buying an additional 939,156 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter valued at $79,126,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BMO shares. Wall Street Zen raised Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Natl Bk Canada lowered shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Down 0.7%

BMO stock opened at $137.72 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.94. Bank Of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $85.40 and a fifty-two week high of $139.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.20. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.56%.

Bank Of Montreal Profile

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.