Captrust Financial Advisors Grows Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 177.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,325 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 5,324 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,494,749 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,960,491,000 after purchasing an additional 576,744 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,615,141 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,709,215,000 after purchasing an additional 486,984 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth about $1,014,633,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,838,171 shares of the bank's stock worth $664,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044,862 shares during the period. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 6,616,614 shares of the bank's stock valued at $642,016,000 after buying an additional 704,197 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO opened at $102.78 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.96. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $76.98 and a fifty-two week high of $106.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is 57.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BMO. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "sector perform" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, CIBC cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Company 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.

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