Two Sigma Advisers LP Purchases 69,500 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 74.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,398 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 69,500 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $15,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at $410,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 12,833,065 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,244,284,000 after buying an additional 1,020,712 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at $295,000. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 13,691 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,328,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,215 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,574,000 after buying an additional 7,093 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BMO shares. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank began coverage on Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Finally, CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $104.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 143,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 671,726. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $106.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.69 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50-day moving average is $96.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.53.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. Bank of Montreal's revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.35%.

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.