Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Has $102,000 Stock Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 110.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,051 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 244.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 44.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $100.42 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.40. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $104.63. The firm has a market cap of $73.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.1329 per share. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 63.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Bank of Montreal 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.