Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) is Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s 2nd Largest Position

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 503,614 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,393 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal comprises 5.2% of Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $48,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:BMO opened at $93.39 on Friday. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $106.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BMO. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, CIBC lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

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.