Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $174,000 Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 61.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,754 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,786 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,161 shares of the bank’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,472 shares of the bank’s stock worth $877,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 0.4% during the third quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 30,963 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,714,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.1% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,527 shares of the bank’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO opened at $90.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $66.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.22 and a 200 day moving average of $89.67. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $73.98 and a 12 month high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its 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). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 7.40%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $1.1172 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.