295,417 Bank Of Montreal $BMO Shares Sold by Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 20.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,131,358 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 295,417 shares during the period. Bank Of Montreal comprises approximately 2.4% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $189,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Bank Of Montreal during the second quarter valued at about $920,002,000. Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter worth about $1,518,000. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the first quarter worth about $3,979,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter worth about $10,555,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter worth about $235,791,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BMO shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut Bank Of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Down 0.5%

BMO opened at $172.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Bank Of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $119.84 and a fifty-two week high of $187.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $170.63 and its 200 day moving average is $161.56. The stock has a market cap of $119.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.93.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.13. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. Bank Of Montreal’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of C$1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.18%.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal, commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is a diversified financial services company serving individuals, businesses, and institutions. Its offerings include personal and commercial banking, such as deposit accounts, loans, mortgages, credit cards, and business banking services. BMO also provides wealth management and investment services, including financial advice, investment management, and private banking. Through its capital markets business, the company serves corporate, government, and institutional clients with services such as corporate banking, investment banking, and trading.