Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Stake Lifted by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 2,162.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 415,034 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 396,687 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal comprises about 2.0% of Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Bank of Montreal worth $40,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 261.6% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $383,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074,389 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 14.9% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,065,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,508 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at about $760,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 14.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $455,397,000 after purchasing an additional 625,797 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,353,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:BMO opened at $96.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $106.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.31. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” 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. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.40.

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.