Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Grows Stock Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,547 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,191,193 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,294,121,000 after buying an additional 468,761 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 10.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,783,968 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,247,154,000 after buying an additional 1,417,298 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 14,495,589 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,435,002,000 after purchasing an additional 738,579 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 14,042,593 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,184,774,000 after acquiring an additional 679,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,326,233 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $704,551,000 after acquiring an additional 29,706 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO opened at $92.88 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $93.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.79. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $73.98 and a 52 week high of $100.12. The stock has a market cap of $67.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.14.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 7.40%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $1.1172 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.81%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 41.79%.

Bank of Montreal 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.