Sapient Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 2,516 Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,516 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,191,193 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,294,121,000 after buying an additional 468,761 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 10.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,783,968 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,247,154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,298 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 14,042,593 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,184,774,000 after buying an additional 679,340 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 0.5% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 13,757,010 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,102,086,000 after buying an additional 69,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,544,892 shares of the bank’s stock worth $864,767,000 after buying an additional 1,179,546 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $92.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.61. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $73.98 and a 1 year high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.34). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors 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 4.82%. This is an increase 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 presently 62.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

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.