Korea Investment CORP Grows Stock Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 478,191 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 12,052 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of Bank of Montreal worth $46,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 708,767 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,786,000 after purchasing an additional 40,135 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 194,218 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,855,000 after buying an additional 14,351 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,913,716 shares of the bank's stock valued at $185,694,000 after acquiring an additional 64,799 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the bank's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth about $346,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMO traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 126,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,776. 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 fifty day moving average of $99.23 and a 200 day moving average of $96.05. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $106.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is presently 57.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" 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.