Cumberland Partners Ltd Lowers Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Cumberland Partners Ltd lessened its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,583 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,578 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMO. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BMO. TD Securities cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $123.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO opened at $94.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $90.01 and a 200-day moving average of $88.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $100.12.

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 return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a $1.123 dividend. This represents a $4.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

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.