Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases 11,320 Shares of Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 15% in Q4, buying 11,320 shares to hold 86,672 shares valued at about $11.25 million.
• BMO beat Q expectations with $2.51 EPS (vs. $2.35 est.) and $7.21 billion revenue, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.67 ($6.68 annualized) for a ~4.4% yield (ex-dividend Apr 29, payable May 26).
• Institutional ownership is about 45.8%, and analyst sentiment is mixed with an average rating of "Hold" and a $163 average target; recent moves include upgrades from Raymond James and a downgrade from Barclays.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,672 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 11,320 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $11,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 36.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 502,382 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,479,000 after purchasing an additional 134,699 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 17.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,260,160 shares of the bank's stock worth $949,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,546 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the third quarter worth about $7,939,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,343,957 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,214,676,000 after purchasing an additional 149,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviso Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 24.2% during the third quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 1,002,099 shares of the bank's stock worth $130,601,000 after purchasing an additional 195,154 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays cut Bank Of Montreal from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Bank Of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO stock opened at $152.45 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $143.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.67. Bank Of Montreal has a one year low of $98.09 and a one year high of $156.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.16. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 11.76%.The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date 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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