CenterBook Partners LP Grows Stock Position in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

CenterBook Partners LP increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 147.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,048 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,366 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $1,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canerector Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 18,035.0% in the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 22,668,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,952,605,000 after purchasing an additional 22,543,750 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bank Of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,059,320,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 10.3% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,079,026 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,486,691,000 after buying an additional 1,789,188 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 155.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,127,377 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $277,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,287,878,000 after acquiring an additional 673,248 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO opened at $165.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $115.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.95. Bank Of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $104.08 and a fifty-two week high of $167.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $152.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.27.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.98 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 13.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 50.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research cut Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank Of Montreal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.00.

About Bank Of Montreal

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.