Guardian Partners Inc. Purchases Shares of 377,671 Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 377,671 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $37,129,000. Bank of Montreal accounts for approximately 3.8% of Guardian Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Guardian Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Bank of Montreal at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BMO. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 7.6% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 30,990 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,795,000 after acquiring an additional 2,177 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,667 shares of the bank's stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the bank's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,848,917 shares of the bank's stock worth $167,017,000 after acquiring an additional 103,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 7.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 165,148 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,919,000 after buying an additional 10,792 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.07. The company had a trading volume of 266,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 785,593. The company has a market capitalization of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50-day moving average is $99.42 and its 200-day moving average is $95.71. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $106.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last released 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. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. Bank of Montreal's revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.57%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BMO. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.