Avanza Fonder AB Buys Shares of 42,332 Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 42,332 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,108,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 261.6% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank's stock valued at $383,449,000 after buying an additional 3,074,389 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 138.4% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,851,629 shares of the bank's stock valued at $407,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,816,385 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.9% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,065,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,508 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $760,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank's stock worth $455,397,000 after purchasing an additional 625,797 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 375,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,652. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $104.63. The stock has a market cap of $72.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $96.75 and a 200-day moving average of $90.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.1329 dividend. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. 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. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report 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 raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.