CenterBook Partners LP Takes Position in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,682 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $740,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the second quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 3.0% during the second quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 22,701 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the bank’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Bank Of Montreal stock opened at $145.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $103.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $135.95 and its 200 day moving average is $128.22. Bank Of Montreal has a twelve month low of $85.40 and a twelve month high of $146.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank Of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

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.