Trust Co. of Vermont Trims Stake in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 75.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 901 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,717 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $87,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMO. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2,701.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 30,454 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 29,367 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 55,823 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 72.9% during the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 588,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,082,000 after purchasing an additional 248,098 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,327,465 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $300,137,000 after buying an additional 144,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,298,627 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,326,000 after buying an additional 60,155 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $98.99 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 1.37 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.72. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 an increase 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 4.58%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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