Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Boosts Stake in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ increased its stake in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,321 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,197 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $21,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BMO. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 739,598 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,015,000 after buying an additional 114,458 shares in the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 9.5% during the third quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 734,616 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,684,000 after purchasing an additional 63,432 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 17.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,260,160 shares of the bank’s stock worth $949,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,546 shares during the period. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the third quarter worth $7,939,000. Finally, Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 607,701 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,389,000 after purchasing an additional 44,618 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial raised Bank Of Montreal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. TD Securities upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank Of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of BMO opened at $145.97 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.33. Bank Of Montreal has a twelve month low of $85.40 and a twelve month high of $146.35. The company has a market cap of $103.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.20. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 11.13%.The business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.68%.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.