SVB Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,176 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $99.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $99.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.34. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $106.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. Bank of Montreal’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.83%.

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.