Caprock Group LLC Invests $577,000 in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 4,764 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $577,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the third quarter worth approximately $321,000. Rockland Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the third quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in Bank Of Montreal by 2,553.4% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 180,563 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,534,000 after purchasing an additional 173,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 107.7% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 407 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of BMO opened at $141.41 on Wednesday. Bank Of Montreal has a 12 month low of $85.40 and a 12 month high of $146.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $135.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $99.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.94.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 11.13%.The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on BMO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. TD Securities raised Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Company Profile

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.