Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 498,232 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $48,353,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Bank of Montreal at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. CIBC cut Bank of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.39. The stock had a trading volume of 439,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 864,173. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $67.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $106.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $96.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.29.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.35%.

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.