Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Short Interest Update

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,820,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the December 31st total of 6,140,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 825,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $97.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.77. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $104.63. 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 company has a market cap of $71.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.09.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.1329 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.64%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 140.9% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Company 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.