Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys 738,579 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,495,589 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 738,579 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal comprises about 2.2% of Mackenzie Financial Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 2.00% of Bank of Montreal worth $1,435,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 486,421 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,219,000 after acquiring an additional 77,285 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 171,717 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,488,000 after purchasing an additional 6,901 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the bank's stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 848,655 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,966,000 after buying an additional 104,490 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 177.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 527 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BMO. National Bank Financial upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Bank of America raised Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE BMO traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $92.74. 711,783 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 679,868. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.13. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $73.98 and a 12 month high of $100.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.34). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1172 dividend. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is 62.02%.

Bank of Montreal 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.