Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Shares Sold by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 233,896 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 15,075 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal makes up about 1.5% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $22,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 207.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $99.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.09. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $104.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.02. 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 63.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BMO. StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.