Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co reduced its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 480,066 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,342 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.07% of Bank of Montreal worth $46,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $59,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $95.15. 189,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 671,153. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $68.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $106.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.38 and a 200 day moving average of $96.27.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is currently 57.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. CIBC cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $128.40.

About Bank of Montreal

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.