740,236 Shares in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Bought by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 740,236 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $760,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Wednesday. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 1.6 %

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $98.43 on Friday. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $104.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.08. The firm has a market cap of $71.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 67.34%.

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.