Cozad Asset Management Inc. Sells 107 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,797 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 107 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BMO. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $97.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.48 and a 200-day moving average of $95.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $71.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Bank of Montreal’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 57.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BMO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 note on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.40.

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.