Cumberland Partners Ltd Purchases 3,319 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 31.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,902 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,319 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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. lifted 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 buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings 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 valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $101.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $104.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.01. 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.1329 dividend. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMO has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.