Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Decreases Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 62.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,548 shares of the bank's stock after selling 9,127 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the third quarter valued at $45,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,037 shares of the bank's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 1.0 %

BMO traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $101.75. 603,493 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 620,267. The company has a market cap of $74.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $106.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $99.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last released 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. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. Bank of Montreal's quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is 56.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.