Bank Of Montreal $BMO Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its stake in Bank of Montreal, boosting holdings by 2,127.4% in the fourth quarter to 349,694 shares worth about $45.4 million.
• Institutional ownership in BMO remains significant, with several large investors also adding shares; the article says 45.82% of the stock is held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Bank of Montreal recently beat earnings expectations, reported a quarterly dividend of $1.67 per share (4.3% yield), and currently carries an average analyst rating of Hold with a $163 target price.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 2,127.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 349,694 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 333,994 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $45,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BMO. Canerector Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 18,035.0% during the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 22,668,750 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,952,605,000 after buying an additional 22,543,750 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,079,026 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,486,691,000 after buying an additional 1,789,188 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 155.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,127,377 shares of the bank's stock worth $277,091,000 after buying an additional 1,294,169 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,260,160 shares of the bank's stock worth $949,441,000 after buying an additional 1,070,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,287,878,000 after buying an additional 673,248 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on BMO shares. National Bank Financial restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays downgraded Bank Of Montreal from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank Of Montreal has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $153.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $144.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.96. The stock has a market cap of $107.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.94. Bank Of Montreal has a 1-year low of $102.68 and a 1-year high of $156.00.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.73 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. Bank Of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.75%.

Bank Of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal NYSE: BMO, commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada's largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO's core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.

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