Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 291,338 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 19,147 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $28,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 2.3 %

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $95.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $106.00. The company has a market cap of $69.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.72.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.09%.

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.