Alberta Investment Management Corp Boosts Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,392,000 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal accounts for 0.9% of Alberta Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 0.19% of Bank of Montreal worth $135,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth $346,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 2,701.7% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 30,454 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 29,367 shares in the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth about $327,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 80.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 125,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,344,000 after buying an additional 55,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 72.9% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 588,209 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,082,000 after buying an additional 248,098 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMO has been the subject of several research reports. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.2 %

BMO stock opened at $101.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $73.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average is $98.58 and its 200 day moving average is $92.96. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $104.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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 dividend of $1.1329 per share. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 63.32%.

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.