Squarepoint Ops LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 415.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 28,567 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,026 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $2,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 623 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 1st quarter worth about $70,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of BMO opened at $91.22 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $85.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.62. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $73.98 and a twelve month high of $100.12. The stock has a market cap of $66.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a $1.123 dividend. This represents a $4.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com cut Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.75.

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.