Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$135.92.

BMO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from C$147.00 to C$160.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$127.00 to C$148.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from C$134.00 to C$150.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Transactions at Bank of Montreal

In related news, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$140.79, for a total value of C$1,601,592.91. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

TSE:BMO opened at C$142.10 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$140.15 and its 200-day moving average price is C$127.74. The company has a market capitalization of C$103.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of C$109.02 and a 1-year high of C$147.54.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 71.35%.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal is a diversified financial-services provider based in North America, operating four business segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, U.S. P&C banking, wealth management, and capital markets.