338 Shares in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Bought by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 338 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 4.6% during the third quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,177 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,547 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,599 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BMO. 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. Barclays began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $95.47 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.34). The firm 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1172 dividend. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.31%.

Bank of Montreal Company 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.