Value Partners Investments Inc. Has $48.57 Million Position in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 803.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 508,135 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 451,881 shares during the period. Bank Of Montreal comprises 4.2% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $48,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,494,749 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,960,491,000 after purchasing an additional 576,744 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,615,141 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,709,215,000 after acquiring an additional 486,984 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 12,833,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,244,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,712 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,215,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,184,636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,014,633,000. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of Bank Of Montreal stock opened at $106.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $76.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.30. Bank Of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $76.98 and a fifty-two week high of $109.10.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84. The business had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.79 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 10.15%. Bank Of Montreal’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $1.1801 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BMO shares. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bank Of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.50.

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.