Atomi Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 23.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,908 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 740 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 13.5% in the third quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 0.3% in the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 760,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,367 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 3.1% in the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 4,125 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 6.4% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,020,683 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,588,000 after purchasing an additional 61,083 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE BMO opened at $92.68 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.45. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $73.98 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market cap of $67.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by ($0.12). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given 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 dividend yield of 4.85%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 71.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BMO shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $134.00 to $117.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Bank of Montreal 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.