Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Stake Increased by Aviso Financial Inc.

Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,027,872 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,681 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal makes up 5.0% of Aviso Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Aviso Financial Inc. owned 0.14% of Bank of Montreal worth $99,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $95.00 on Friday. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $106.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.41 and a 200-day moving average of $94.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $69.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. Bank of Montreal’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

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.