Brokerages Set Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) PT at $128.00

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $128.00.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Passumpsic Savings Bank increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 5,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,602 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,865 shares of the bank’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.1 %

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $99.61 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $98.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.14. 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.

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 issued a $1.1329 dividend. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 63.32%.

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.