Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases New Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,604 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the bank’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cigna Investments Inc. New lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 13,454 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,306 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BMO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:BMO traded down $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.90. 3,961,611 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 740,200. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.09. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $73.98 and a twelve month high of $100.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $66.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 EPS 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 net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.89%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.02%.

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.