2,100 Shares in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Bought by Firestone Capital Management

Firestone Capital Management purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,100 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 43.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 6.8% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,306 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 15,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of BMO traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.32. 986,848 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,286. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.34. The company has a market capitalization of $65.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.13. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $73.98 and a 52 week high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1172 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 41.79%.

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.