Plato Investment Management Ltd Takes $4.65 Million Position in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management purchased 26,449 Bank of Montreal shares worth approximately $4.65 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 45.82% of BMO’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with five Buy, seven Hold and one Sell rating; the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.
• Bank of Montreal exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its quarterly dividend to $1.71, or $6.84 annually, representing a 3.7% yield.

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 26,449 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,646,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Bank Of Montreal by 87.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the bank's stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Bank Of Montreal during the second quarter worth about $1,018,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Bank Of Montreal by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,364 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Bank Of Montreal by 166.3% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 411,108 shares of the bank's stock worth $45,518,000 after acquiring an additional 256,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 5,614.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the bank's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Bank Of Montreal from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Desjardins reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:BMO opened at $185.75 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $129.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $176.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.03. Bank Of Montreal has a 52-week low of $112.21 and a 52-week high of $185.86.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.98 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.04% and a net margin of 12.60%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.86 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. Bank Of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

About Bank Of Montreal

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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