Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Stake Boosted by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,833,065 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,020,712 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal accounts for 2.0% of Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $1,244,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 70.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 4.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,327,465 shares of the bank’s stock worth $300,137,000 after purchasing an additional 144,252 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth $434,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 14,472 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth $325,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE BMO opened at $102.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.96. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $106.00. The stock has a market cap of $74.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 57.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. CIBC cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday. They set a “sector perform” rating for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

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.