Duality Advisers LP Acquires Shares of 11,999 Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,999 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,187,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 226,741 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,545,000 after buying an additional 4,837 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $240,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 14,495,589 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,435,002,000 after acquiring an additional 738,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 486,421 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,219,000 after acquiring an additional 77,285 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays assumed coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $93.82 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $73.98 and a fifty-two week high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.34). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 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, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1172 per share. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 62.02%.

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.