Legal & General Group Plc Purchases 24,658 Shares of Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,550,324 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,658 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.64% of Bank Of Montreal worth $591,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Code Waechter LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 17,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE BMO opened at $161.10 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $146.16 and its 200 day moving average is $138.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank Of Montreal has a 12 month low of $102.70 and a 12 month high of $161.55. The stock has a market cap of $112.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.94.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 11.76%.The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 55.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BMO shares. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays downgraded Bank Of Montreal from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. National Bank Financial reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank Of Montreal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.