UMB Bank n.a. Buys 339 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,373 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 192.1% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $96.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.05. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $73.98 and a 52-week high of $100.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.1172 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.02%.

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.