Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Invests $105,000 in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,075 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $105,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3,375.0% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 417 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 117.5% in the fourth quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO traded down $1.91 on Friday, reaching $80.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,138,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,352,153. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $73.98 and a 12-month high of $100.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.09.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.10). Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 11.60%. The firm had revenue of $5.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.96 billion. Research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.57%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 75.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Desjardins downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.50.

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.