Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $122.40.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $134.00 to $117.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $133.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Bank of Montreal 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $96.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $94.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.89. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.1329 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BMO. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the second quarter worth $40,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the third quarter valued at $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 244.1% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 451 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.