3,553 Shares in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Bought by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC 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 filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,553 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,065,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,508 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank's stock valued at $455,397,000 after purchasing an additional 625,797 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,793,309 shares of the bank's stock worth $432,823,000 after buying an additional 114,909 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 261.6% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank's stock worth $383,449,000 after buying an additional 3,074,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,453,718 shares of the bank's stock worth $312,054,000 after buying an additional 50,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE:BMO traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $101.08. 392,733 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,264. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $104.63. The company's 50 day moving average price is $98.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.1329 per share. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is presently 63.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research 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 research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.00.

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.