Vertex Planning Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC decreased its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,990 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,938 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal accounts for about 0.8% of Vertex Planning Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Vertex Planning Partners LLC's holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $3,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,014,633,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,065,474,000 after buying an additional 1,534,508 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth $760,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 14.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank's stock valued at $455,397,000 after acquiring an additional 625,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,494,749 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,960,491,000 after acquiring an additional 576,744 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on BMO shares. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:BMO traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $96.60. 184,647 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 847,986. The firm has a market cap of $70.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.05. 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 results 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 company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is 57.09%.

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.