TD Asset Management Inc. Acquires 486,984 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,615,141 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 486,984 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal comprises approximately 1.5% of TD Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. TD Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 2.41% of Bank of Montreal worth $1,709,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BMO. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% in the 4th 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 period. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the fourth 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.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $97.34 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.58. The firm has a market cap of $70.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 57.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.40.

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.