CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Boosts Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 61.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,640 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,897 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC lowered Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $89.27 on Friday. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $76.98 and a fifty-two week high of $106.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $98.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. Bank of Montreal’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

About Bank of Montreal

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.