WoodTrust Financial Corp Raises Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,988 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BMO. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 140.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 1.9 %

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $99.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09. 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 twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $106.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.34.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. Bank of Montreal’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.