Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Position in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,197,775 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 37,281 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $114,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BMO. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,838,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $664,742,000 after buying an additional 2,044,862 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,215,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,184,636,000 after buying an additional 1,630,962 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 12,833,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,244,284,000 after buying an additional 1,020,712 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,297,626 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $422,450,000 after buying an additional 975,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at $48,353,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $113.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $81.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $109.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.78. Bank Of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $115.66.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $1.1801 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is 62.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BMO shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “sector perform” rating on the stock. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.50.

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.