Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $249,000 Investment in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,516 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,161 shares of the bank’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $655,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.1% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,527 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.6% in the third quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,177 shares of the bank’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $92.06 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $93.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $73.98 and a fifty-two week high of $100.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.14.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1172 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.85%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 41.79%.

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.