Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 291,338 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,147 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $28,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BMO. IFP Advisors Inc lifted 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 lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during 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 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $95.39 on Wednesday. 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 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 $69.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.72.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BMO. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

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.