Gries Financial LLC Sells 361 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Gries Financial LLC reduced its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,681 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 361 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $1,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3,375.0% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 417 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 28.0% during the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of BMO stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 143,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,844. The stock has a market cap of $60.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $73.98 and a 52-week high of $100.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.44.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 by ($0.12). Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. Bank of Montreal’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 8.06 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, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.123 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $4.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.41%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank cut Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $123.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, TD Securities cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.75.

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.