Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 4,837 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 226,741 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,837 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $22,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth $240,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 14,495,589 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,435,002,000 after purchasing an additional 738,579 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 486,421 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,219,000 after purchasing an additional 77,285 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at about $249,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at about $639,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BMO. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:BMO opened at $90.94 on Thursday. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $73.98 and a one year high of $100.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 7.40%. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1172 dividend. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.02%.

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.