Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Makes New Investment in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 33,158 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,220,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMO. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $100.96 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $97.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.09. 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 has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.1329 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost 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 4.49%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 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.