Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Acquired by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,829 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,935 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $1,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO stock opened at $97.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $99.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.