Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,985,056 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,281,338 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal makes up 0.9% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $179,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the third quarter worth approximately $214,000. Vertex Planning Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter worth $4,053,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 6.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 7.6% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 30,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,795,000 after buying an additional 2,177 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $94.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $68.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $100.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.18.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.25 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a $1.123 dividend. This represents a $4.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $134.00 to $117.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Securities downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.