State of Wyoming Takes $1.17 Million Position in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,640 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,287,878,000 after acquiring an additional 673,248 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,372,601 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,519,180,000 after purchasing an additional 293,575 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,445,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,226,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,500 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth about $1,059,320,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,030,219 shares of the bank’s stock worth $932,242,000 after purchasing an additional 442,812 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 0.2%

BMO opened at $179.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $169.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.54. The company has a market cap of $125.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.93. Bank Of Montreal has a twelve month low of $109.64 and a twelve month high of $184.21.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.98 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.04% and a net margin of 12.60%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 50.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Desjardins reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

About Bank Of Montreal

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.