O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 153,570 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 10,024 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $14,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,640 shares of the bank's stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,897 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth $216,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 6,616,614 shares of the bank's stock worth $642,016,000 after buying an additional 704,197 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 77.0% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 8,443 shares of the bank's stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 3,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 380,900 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,959,000 after buying an additional 61,076 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

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Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BMO traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.59. 557,993 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 848,239. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $99.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $106.00.

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 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 company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given 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 4.55%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BMO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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 raised Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.