Analysts Set Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) PT at $128.00

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $128.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.9 %

BMO opened at $98.46 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $71.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.09. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.1329 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.60%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 63.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMO. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2,701.7% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 30,454 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 29,367 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth about $346,000. Five Oceans Advisors acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth about $327,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 80.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 125,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,344,000 after buying an additional 55,823 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 72.9% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 588,209 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,082,000 after buying an additional 248,098 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

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.