Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Takes $45,000 Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 500 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 29,367 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,411,695 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,371,000 after purchasing an additional 14,809 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 80.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 125,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,344,000 after purchasing an additional 55,823 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $53,082,000 after purchasing an additional 248,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised 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 valued at $285,789,000 after purchasing an additional 69,111 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $96.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.86 and its 200 day moving average is $88.89. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $76.98 and a 52 week high of $104.63. 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 company 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 $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. 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 4.69%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 67.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, three 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 a consensus target price of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal 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.