Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. Acquires 3,162 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 69,216 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal comprises about 2.3% of Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $6,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMO. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 10.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,783,968 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,247,154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,298 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 5.1% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 14,042,593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,184,774,000 after purchasing an additional 679,340 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 1.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,191,193 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,294,121,000 after acquiring an additional 468,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 10.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,297,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $278,141,000 after acquiring an additional 301,391 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BMO shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMO traded down $1.09 on Wednesday, reaching $92.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 114,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,666. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $73.98 and a 52-week high of $100.12. The company has a market cap of $67.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1172 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.02%.

About Bank of Montreal

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.