Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 194,218 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 14,351 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $18,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 708,767 shares of the bank's stock valued at $68,786,000 after acquiring an additional 40,135 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,913,716 shares of the bank's stock valued at $185,694,000 after purchasing an additional 64,799 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the bank's stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth about $346,000. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $327,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BMO shares. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 1.5 %

Bank of Montreal stock traded down $1.48 during trading on Thursday, reaching $96.07. 1,104,640 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 852,457. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00. The firm has a market cap of $69.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company's 50-day moving average is $99.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.13.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The company 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%. Bank of Montreal'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 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

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.