2,792 Shares in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Purchased by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,792 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMO. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE BMO traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.39. 439,280 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 861,549. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business's fifty day moving average is $96.90 and its 200 day moving average is $96.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $76.98 and a fifty-two week high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. Bank of Montreal's quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is 57.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Company 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.