Cerity Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 6,459 Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,459 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $639,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.2% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 171,717 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,488,000 after acquiring an additional 6,901 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 848,655 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,966,000 after acquiring an additional 104,490 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 177.4% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 527 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at about $93,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

BMO opened at $93.82 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.26 and its 200-day moving average is $90.05. The stock has a market cap of $68.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.13. 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 has a twelve month low of $73.98 and a twelve month high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.89%. On average, analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1172 per share. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 62.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BMO. Barclays assumed coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Company 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.