Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Acquired by IAG Wealth Partners LLC

IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 117.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 496 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $49,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,191,193 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,294,121,000 after acquiring an additional 468,761 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 10.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,783,968 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,247,154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,298 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 14,495,589 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,435,002,000 after purchasing an additional 738,579 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 5.1% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 14,042,593 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,184,774,000 after purchasing an additional 679,340 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 0.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,326,233 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $704,551,000 after purchasing an additional 29,706 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BMO. Barclays began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMO traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $90.91. The stock had a trading volume of 3,961,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,343. The company has a market capitalization of $66.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $73.98 and a 1 year high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 7.40%. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1172 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 62.02%.

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.