10 Best Bank Stocks With High Dividends

3. Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Dividend Yield as of December 6: 4.62%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 14

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) operates mainly in North America, where it provides financial services including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and capital markets.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) announced a quarterly dividend of C$1.59 per share on December 5, marking a 2.6% increase from the previous dividend of C$1.55. The dividend will be paid on February 26 to shareholders on record as of January 30. This bank has consistently paid dividends to shareholders since 1829 and has increased its payouts annually for the past eight years. That puts BMO on our list of the best bank stocks for a dividend portfolio.

In BMO’s Q4 2024 earnings call, the bank shared that a year ago, it expected higher interest rates and a slowing economy to make things more difficult for business activity, loan demand, and credit. To stay ahead, Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) took early action, managing costs while still supporting customers, which led to solid results. However, credit performance was worse than anticipated, resulting in a drop in net income for the year to $7.4 billion and earnings per share to $9.68. Despite the tough year, there’s a lot to be proud of. The bank saw a 5% increase in pre-tax earnings to $13.4 billion, improved efficiency, and grew its core customer base, with deposits rising by $61 billion or 9%. BMO expects provisions to ease off through 2025.

According to Insider Monkey’s third-quarter data, Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) was present in 14 hedge fund portfolios. Arrowstreet Capital is the largest position holder in the bank, with nearly 1.5 million shares worth $133.2 million.