Intact Investment Management Inc. Acquires 82,900 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 726,141 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 82,900 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal comprises about 2.9% of Intact Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Intact Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Bank of Montreal worth $71,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 192.1% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 63.5% in the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $90.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,961,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,343. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.16 and a 200-day moving average of $90.16. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $73.98 and a 52 week high of $100.12. The company has a market cap of $66.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1172 per share. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 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.