Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Stock Position Lifted by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,215,628 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 1,630,962 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal comprises 1.5% of Mackenzie Financial Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 1.68% of Bank of Montreal worth $1,184,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,014,633,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 42.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1,527.7% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,160,494 shares of the bank's stock worth $112,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,199 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 12,833,065 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,244,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,712 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,297,626 shares of the bank's stock worth $422,450,000 after purchasing an additional 975,777 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "sector perform" rating on the stock. CIBC restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $104.64. The stock had a trading volume of 723,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 848,913. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $96.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.53. The stock has a market cap of $75.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is 57.35%.

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.