Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 5,185 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,175 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,185 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $3,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:BMO opened at $96.70 on Friday. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $106.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.40.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.