Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Sold by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC cut its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 35.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,037 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,702 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 14.9% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,065,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534,508 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $455,397,000 after acquiring an additional 625,797 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,793,309 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $432,823,000 after acquiring an additional 114,909 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 261.6% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,449,000 after buying an additional 3,074,389 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,453,718 shares of the bank’s stock worth $312,054,000 after buying an additional 50,287 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO stock opened at $101.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $73.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $104.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $98.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.68.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 63.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.00.

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.