Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires 3,074,389 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 261.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,249,552 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,074,389 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal accounts for about 0.9% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $383,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2,701.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 30,454 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 29,367 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.1% in the second quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,411,695 shares of the bank’s stock worth $118,371,000 after buying an additional 14,809 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 72.9% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 588,209 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,082,000 after buying an additional 248,098 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.1% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,403,431 shares of the bank’s stock worth $285,789,000 after buying an additional 69,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 34.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 623 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $94.40 on Wednesday. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $100.12. The stock has a market cap of $68.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $92.18 and its 200 day moving average is $88.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 by ($0.12). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BMO. Scotiabank downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $123.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Securities downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.75.

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.