Benjamin Edwards Inc. Makes New Investment in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,961 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE BMO opened at $100.81 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.41. The stock has a market cap of $73.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $104.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.50%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $133.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Friday. 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.