Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Makes New Investment in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 142,629 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $25,200,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,287,878,000 after buying an additional 673,248 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,372,601 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,519,180,000 after buying an additional 293,575 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,445,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,226,622,000 after buying an additional 1,245,500 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bank Of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at $1,059,320,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,030,219 shares of the bank’s stock worth $932,242,000 after acquiring an additional 442,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. Desjardins reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered Bank Of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $174.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $121.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.94. Bank Of Montreal has a one year low of $112.58 and a one year high of $187.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $177.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.98 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 13.04%. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This is a boost from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 51.06%.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.