Cibc World Mkts Upgrades Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) to Strong-Buy

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was upgraded by stock analysts at Cibc World Mkts from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays dropped 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. TD Securities lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $133.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $103.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $93.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.41. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $76.98 and a 52 week high of $104.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 207.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing 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.