1,490 Shares in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Purchased by SBI Securities Co. Ltd.

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,490 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $145,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in 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 during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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 company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $98.58 on Friday. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $76.98 and a fifty-two week high of $106.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $99.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $71.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. Bank of Montreal’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 57.09%.

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.