GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 148,381 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 9,451.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 149,951 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 148,381 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $14,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,014,633,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted 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 valued at $664,742,000 after buying an additional 2,044,862 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,215,628 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,184,636,000 after buying an additional 1,630,962 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1,527.7% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,160,494 shares of the bank's stock worth $112,626,000 after buying an additional 1,089,199 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 12,833,065 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,244,284,000 after buying an additional 1,020,712 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays downgraded Bank of Montreal from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank began coverage on Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $129.50.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Bank of Montreal stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.87. 1,371,416 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 830,626. The stock has a market cap of $77.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's fifty day moving average is $98.80 and its 200-day moving average is $98.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $109.10.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.1801 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.48%.

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.