740,236 Shares in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Bought by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 740,236 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $760,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Bank of Montreal as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BMO. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 42,247.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 17,786 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 17,744 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth about $235,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 164,531 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,810,000 after buying an additional 31,374 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 152,263 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,635,000 after acquiring an additional 7,356 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the second quarter worth approximately $522,000. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BMO shares. StockNews.com lowered Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a report on Wednesday. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO stock traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 770,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 583,879. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $76.98 and a fifty-two week 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $95.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.08. The company has a market capitalization of $71.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.64%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is 67.34%.

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.