Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Buys Shares of 971 Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 971 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $81,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 84,492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 177.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 527 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $646,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BMO shares. Desjardins lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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. 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, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $137.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.50.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Bank of Montreal stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.38. 76,846 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 842,371. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.85. The firm has a market cap of $59.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $73.98 and a 52 week high of $100.12.

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

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.125 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.53%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 75.25%.

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.