Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,343,957 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 149,944 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $4,214,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the third quarter worth $52,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on BMO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

BMO opened at $141.41 on Wednesday. Bank Of Montreal has a 52-week low of $85.40 and a 52-week high of $146.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.65. The company has a market cap of $99.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.20. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 11.76%. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.68%.

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.