Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Has $108.09 Million Stock Holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 72.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,114,100 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 466,755 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal makes up 3.9% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $108,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 708,767 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,786,000 after acquiring an additional 40,135 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,913,716 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $185,694,000 after purchasing an additional 64,799 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the bank’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO opened at $98.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $71.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $99.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Bank of Montreal’s revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BMO. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

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.