Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 1,402 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,184 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $2,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $346,000. Five Oceans Advisors bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $327,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 80.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 125,572 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,344,000 after purchasing an additional 55,823 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 72.9% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 588,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,082,000 after purchasing an additional 248,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 4.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,327,465 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $300,137,000 after purchasing an additional 144,252 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” 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 research report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO opened at $102.71 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.05.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 56.83%.

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.