Focus Partners Wealth Buys 4,147 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 122.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,527 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,147 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts lowered Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.0%

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $102.78 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.04. The company has a market cap of $74.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. Analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

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

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.