Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Upgraded at CIBC

CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BMO. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. Bank of America lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Securities cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $103.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.36. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $104.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.62%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 326,510 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,773,000 after buying an additional 5,821 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 70.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,065,474,000 after buying an additional 1,534,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 10.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,321,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $303,130,000 after buying an additional 307,466 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.