Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Raises Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 24,568 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $2,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 5.6% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,306 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,527 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the third quarter worth about $306,000. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 5,110 shares of the bank’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Bancshares Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc. now owns 68,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,793,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $92.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,426. The firm has a market cap of $67.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.14. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $73.98 and a 1-year high of $100.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $93.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.79. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.89%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1172 dividend. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 41.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.