AJOVista LLC Purchases New Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,900 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,191,193 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,294,121,000 after purchasing an additional 468,761 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake 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 valued at $1,247,154,000 after buying an additional 1,417,298 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 738,579 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 14,042,593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,184,774,000 after acquiring an additional 679,340 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,326,233 shares of the bank’s stock worth $704,551,000 after acquiring an additional 29,706 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE BMO traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $91.23. The company had a trading volume of 486,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 933,216. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.14. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $73.98 and a 52 week high of $100.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.45.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 expect that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.1172 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal’s 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.