Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,604,088 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 46,056 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.49% of Bank of Montreal worth $349,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BMO. IFP Advisors Inc increased 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 purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO traded down $0.38 on Friday, reaching $95.05. 1,960,676 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 876,132. 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 50-day simple moving average of $96.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.30. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $106.00. The firm has a market cap of $68.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. CIBC downgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Cibc World Mkts lowered Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.