National Bank of Canada FI Has $1.24 Billion Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,750,365 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,011,471 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal comprises about 1.4% of National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 1.88% of Bank of Montreal worth $1,240,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the second quarter worth $40,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 3.8 %

BMO opened at $103.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $75.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $93.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 65.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $133.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.