Legal & General Group Plc Has $589.86 Million Stake in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 4.1%, buying 176,923 shares to hold 4,525,666 shares — about 0.63% of the company valued at roughly $589.86 million.
• BMO beat expectations for the quarter with $2.51 EPS (vs. $2.35 consensus) and $7.21 billion in revenue, a 6.0% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $1.67 (annualized $6.68) for a yield near 4.7%, and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $163.00 price target.

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,525,666 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 176,923 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.63% of Bank Of Montreal worth $589,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Bank Of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in Bank Of Montreal in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 107.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 407 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BMO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Securities raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. National Bank Financial restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $143.00 on Wednesday. Bank Of Montreal has a 1-year low of $85.40 and a 1-year high of $149.01. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $139.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.92.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Bank Of Montreal's payout ratio is currently 56.56%.

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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