Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 209 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,568 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $2,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 192.1% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 63.5% in the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 117.5% during the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $92.27. 24,352 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 723,426. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.79. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $73.98 and a 12 month high of $100.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.14.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share 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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1172 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 started coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

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.