Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Holdings Boosted by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,037 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $94,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted 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 valued at $383,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074,389 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.9% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,065,474,000 after buying an additional 1,534,508 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $760,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank’s stock worth $455,397,000 after buying an additional 625,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,321,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $303,130,000 after acquiring an additional 307,466 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $99.61 on Friday. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $104.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $98.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 63.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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