CenterBook Partners LP Invests $740,000 in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 5,682 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $740,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BMO. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 87.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $204,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 22,701 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the bank’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 112 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 analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Friday, January 9th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. TD Securities upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Bank Of Montreal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank Of Montreal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $145.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $103.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. Bank Of Montreal has a 52-week low of $85.40 and a 52-week high of $146.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $135.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.22.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 11.13%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.68%.

Bank Of Montreal Company Profile

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.