Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Short Interest Update

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,820,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the December 15th total of 6,140,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 825,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.1 days.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Bank of Montreal stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.99. 375,202 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 436,652. The company has a market capitalization of $72.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $96.75 and a 200 day moving average of $90.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is currently 65.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $128.00.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,534,508 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 6.8% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 7,312,320 shares of the bank's stock worth $613,138,000 after purchasing an additional 463,924 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in 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 valued at $432,823,000 after buying an additional 114,909 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.