Associated Banc Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Associated Banc Corp reduced its stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,480 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 690 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $1,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased 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 purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BMO. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report 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. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $97.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. 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 is $99.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.88. 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) (TSE:BMO) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business’s revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. Analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal 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 is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.57%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

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.