Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Bank Of Montreal $BMO

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,492 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,324,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at $1,059,320,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Bank Of Montreal during the second quarter worth $1,281,220,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in Bank Of Montreal during the second quarter worth $957,549,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter worth $920,002,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter worth $744,214,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

BMO stock opened at $172.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.41. The company has a market capitalization of $119.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. Bank Of Montreal has a 52-week low of $118.66 and a 52-week high of $187.22.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.98 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 11.72%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BMO. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Desjardins reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.00.

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.