Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$131.33.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from C$134.00 to C$117.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$114.00 to C$131.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$118.00 to C$106.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from C$134.00 to C$150.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Desjardins lowered their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$125.00 to C$120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th.

Insider Transactions at Bank of Montreal

In related news, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$140.79, for a total value of C$1,601,592.91. Also, Senior Officer David Robert Casper sold 12,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$121.85, for a total value of C$1,562,007.97. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of BMO opened at C$138.84 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$132.52 and its 200 day moving average price is C$122.56. The firm has a market capitalization of C$101.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of C$109.02 and a 12-month high of C$147.54.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.58%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

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.