Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 4,958 Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,213 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $18,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.9% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,065,474,000 after buying an additional 1,534,508 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $455,397,000 after acquiring an additional 625,797 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,793,309 shares of the bank’s stock worth $432,823,000 after purchasing an additional 114,909 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 261.6% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074,389 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 1.5% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,453,718 shares of the bank’s stock worth $312,054,000 after purchasing an additional 50,287 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $101.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $98.57 and its 200-day moving average is $92.55. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year 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. The stock has a market cap of $73.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09.

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 paid a dividend of $1.1329 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.32%.

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.