TD Asset Management Inc Increases Position in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Key Points

• TD Asset Management increased its Bank of Montreal stake by 1.5% in Q4, buying 293,575 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 19.37 million shares worth about $2.52 billion.
• Institutional ownership remains strong, with several other firms also boosting positions, and institutions now holding 45.82% of Bank of Montreal’s stock.
• Bank of Montreal beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.68 versus $2.54 expected, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $1.71, implying a 4.2% yield.

TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,372,601 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 293,575 shares during the quarter. Bank Of Montreal accounts for approximately 2.0% of TD Asset Management Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. TD Asset Management Inc owned 2.74% of Bank Of Montreal worth $2,519,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BMO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 673,248 shares during the last quarter. Canerector Inc. increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 18,035.0% during the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 22,668,750 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,952,605,000 after buying an additional 22,543,750 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bank Of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $1,059,320,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,030,219 shares of the bank's stock worth $932,242,000 after buying an additional 442,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,550,324 shares of the bank's stock worth $591,714,000 after buying an additional 24,658 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BMO. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $162.40 on Thursday. Bank Of Montreal has a one year low of $104.08 and a one year high of $165.92. The company has a market cap of $113.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $149.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.14. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 13.04%. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. Bank Of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.96%.

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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