Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 5,117,079 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 36.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,907,412 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,117,079 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal accounts for approximately 1.6% of Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 1.22% of Bank of Montreal worth $864,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BMO. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in 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 period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMO traded up $2.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $91.11. 910,159 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 864,765. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $97.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.22. The company has a market cap of $66.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00. 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 - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (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 period last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Cibc World Mkts lowered Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, CIBC cut Bank of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.