Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys 472,000 Shares of Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group dramatically increased its stake in Bank of Montreal, buying 472,000 additional shares in the fourth quarter and boosting its holdings by 6,300.1% to 479,492 shares worth about $62.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to BMO, and 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutions. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with the stock carrying an average “Hold” rating and a $163.00 price target.
• Bank of Montreal recently beat earnings expectations with quarterly EPS of $2.51 versus $2.35 expected and revenue of $7.21 billion. The bank also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.67 per share, implying a 4.1% yield.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 6,300.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 479,492 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 472,000 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Bank Of Montreal worth $62,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,287,878,000 after acquiring an additional 673,248 shares during the last quarter. Canerector Inc. increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 18,035.0% in the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 22,668,750 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,952,605,000 after purchasing an additional 22,543,750 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 10.3% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,079,026 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,486,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789,188 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 17.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 4.1% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,525,666 shares of the bank's stock worth $589,861,000 after purchasing an additional 176,923 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BMO. Zacks Research cut Bank Of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Securities raised Bank Of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays cut Bank Of Montreal from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Bank Of Montreal stock opened at $161.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. Bank Of Montreal has a 52 week low of $102.70 and a 52 week high of $161.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $145.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.94.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.73 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 11.76%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Bank Of Montreal's payout ratio is presently 55.75%.

Bank Of Montreal 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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