HB Wealth Management LLC Invests $285,000 in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,936 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 0.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,454 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,321,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the second quarter valued at $276,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 6.0% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 51,629 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 137.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 415.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 28,567 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 23,026 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO stock opened at $100.96 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.24 and its 200-day moving average is $91.10.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.1329 dividend. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a 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 research report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.00.

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.