PDS Planning Inc Boosts Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

PDS Planning Inc raised its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,747 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $97.60 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $99.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.18. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $106.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $71.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. Bank of Montreal’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $1.1094 dividend. 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 4.55%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.