Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Securities cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 2.5 %

BMO stock opened at $100.81 on Monday. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $104.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $73.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.41.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.1329 dividend. 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 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.34%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,602 shares of the bank’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 1.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,581 shares of the bank’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 3.1% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 4,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,092 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.