State of Wyoming Boosts Position in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Key Points

• The State of Wyoming increased its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 237.4%, acquiring an additional 10,029 shares, bringing its total to 14,254 shares valued at $1,361,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Mackenzie Financial Corp, significantly increased their holdings in Bank Of Montreal, indicating strong institutional interest in the bank.
• Bank Of Montreal announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $1.18, representing an annualized yield of 5.5%.

State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 237.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,254 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 10,029 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming's holdings in Bank Of Montreal were worth $1,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,997,776 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,960,102,000 after purchasing an additional 503,027 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 8.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,215,628 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,184,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,962 shares during the last quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd grew its position in Bank Of Montreal by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 6,711,773 shares of the bank's stock valued at $651,250,000 after acquiring an additional 426,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Bank Of Montreal by 213.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,259,505 shares of the bank's stock valued at $406,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,899,061 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BMO. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank Of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Barclays downgraded Bank Of Montreal from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BMO traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $121.64. The company had a trading volume of 395,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 670,688. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $113.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.04. Bank Of Montreal has a 1 year low of $81.69 and a 1 year high of $121.74.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.84 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 11.00%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 30th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 30th. This is a boost from Bank Of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. Bank Of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.63%.

About Bank Of Montreal

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.