StockNews.com Downgrades Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.0 %

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $96.62 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $104.63. The stock has a market cap of $70.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.10.

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 $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 67.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,602 shares of the bank’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 4,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,092 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 6,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Montreal

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.