Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $6.95 Million in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 71,581 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $6,947,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during 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 last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during 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 last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during 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 last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $97.60 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.18. The company has a market capitalization of $71.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business’s revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BMO. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.40.

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.