First Merchants Corp Takes Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

First Merchants Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,716 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% in the 3rd 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 boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $101.28. The company had a trading volume of 292,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 589,405. The company has a market capitalization of $73.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $104.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.81.

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 paid a $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is presently 63.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Company 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.