Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,610 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,429 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 47.5% in the 4th 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. purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $100.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.1329 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 63.18%.

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.