Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Purchased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,923 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,455 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BMO. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 44.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 54.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the bank’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $98.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.56. The stock has a market cap of $72.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.09. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.1329 per share. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

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.