Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 238,353 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 27,554 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $23,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

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Bank of Montreal Stock Up 1.4 %

Bank of Montreal stock traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $92.42. The company had a trading volume of 96,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 861,728. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $106.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $97.42 and a 200 day moving average of $96.22. The stock has a market cap of $67.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. Bank of Montreal's revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. CIBC lowered Bank of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal 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.