Wealth Alliance Makes New $777,000 Investment in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Wealth Alliance bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,004 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $777,000.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.4 %

BMO stock traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $100.53. 1,226,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 598,284. The company has a market cap of $73.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's 50-day moving average is $98.62 and its 200-day moving average is $93.07. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $104.63. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.18%.

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.