Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Has $108.09 Million Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. raised its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 72.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,114,100 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 466,755 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal comprises 3.9% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. owned about 0.15% of Bank of Montreal worth $108,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BMO. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 6.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,667 shares of the bank’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 7.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 165,148 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,919,000 after acquiring an additional 10,792 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 4.2% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 6,210 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 109.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,939 shares of the bank’s stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 5,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,502,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BMO shares. 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Seven equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $98.06 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $106.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $99.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.70. The company has a market capitalization of $71.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 57.09%.

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.