Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $349,000 Stock Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,601 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 261.6% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $383,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074,389 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 14.9% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,065,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,508 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at about $760,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 14.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank’s stock worth $455,397,000 after buying an additional 625,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth about $48,353,000. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $97.60 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.18. The firm has a market cap of $71.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

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.