Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. Grows Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 66.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 356,924 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 142,854 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal makes up 2.5% of Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $34,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 261.6% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank's stock valued at $383,449,000 after buying an additional 3,074,389 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 14.9% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,065,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,508 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at $760,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 14.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank's stock valued at $455,397,000 after purchasing an additional 625,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at $48,353,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:BMO traded up $1.73 on Wednesday, hitting $96.98. The stock had a trading volume of 883,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 633,383. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $70.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.72. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. Bank of Montreal's revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.