Bank Of Montreal $BMO Stock Position Boosted by Value Partners Investments Inc.

Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 511,321 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 4,459 shares during the period. Bank Of Montreal accounts for approximately 5.4% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $66,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 31,605 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,117,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Bank Of Montreal by 7.4% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 3.9% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 16,836 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,193,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in Bank Of Montreal during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BMO. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Bank Of Montreal in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Natl Bk Canada lowered Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of BMO opened at $130.30 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.46. The stock has a market cap of $92.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.95. Bank Of Montreal has a 12 month low of $85.40 and a 12 month high of $132.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 11.13%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is 57.35%.

Bank Of Montreal Profile

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.