Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 1,001.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,180 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 22,894 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $2,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3,375.0% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 417 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 117.5% in the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $86.51. The company had a trading volume of 110,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,094. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $63.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.12. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $73.98 and a 12-month high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $5.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.96 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 11.60%. Research analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a $1.125 dividend. This represents a $4.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BMO shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Desjardins cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.50.

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.