TD Securities Lowers Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) to Hold

TD Securities cut shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

BMO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a neutral rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Bank of Montreal from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Desjardins downgraded Bank of Montreal from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Bank of Montreal from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Bank of Montreal from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $119.75.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $83.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.12. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $73.98 and a 12-month high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.25 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 8.25%. Bank of Montreal’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.123 per share. This represents a $4.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,739 shares of the bank’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,581 shares of the bank’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the bank’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

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.