Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO by 66.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 356,924 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 142,854 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal comprises approximately 2.5% of Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $34,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have 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 valued at $383,449,000 after buying an additional 3,074,389 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,065,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534,508 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth about $760,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank's stock worth $455,397,000 after purchasing an additional 625,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,353,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NYSE BMO opened at $98.58 on Friday. 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 has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $106.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $99.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.09%.

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

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Bank of Montreal

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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.

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