Focus Partners Wealth Has $731,000 Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 122.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,527 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 4,147 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 708,767 shares of the bank's stock valued at $68,786,000 after purchasing an additional 40,135 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 8.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,913,716 shares of the bank's stock valued at $185,694,000 after buying an additional 64,799 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position 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 valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $380,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $103.90. The company had a trading volume of 554,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,417. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $75.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $106.00. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $96.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.42.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is presently 57.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank began coverage on Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Cibc World Mkts lowered Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" 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.