Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Sold by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 233,896 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 15,075 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal makes up about 1.5% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $22,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the third quarter worth $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.1 %

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $99.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.02. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $76.98 and a 52 week high of $104.63. The stock has a market cap of $72.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.09. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.1329 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 4.55%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 63.18%.

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.