Cumberland Partners Ltd Acquires 5,700 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,603 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $2,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth about $164,000. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 69,216 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,850,000 after buying an additional 3,162 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,583 shares of the bank’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,187,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BMO traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 606,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 671,778. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $73.98 and a 12-month high of $100.12. The firm has a market cap of $68.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.05. 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 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). The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.89%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1172 dividend. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 62.02%.

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.