Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Stake Boosted by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,913,716 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 64,799 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.26% of Bank of Montreal worth $185,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the third quarter worth $45,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE BMO traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $97.70. 549,234 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 626,496. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $106.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $71.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.60.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during 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 last year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.