CIBC Upgrades Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) to “Sector Outperform”

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 reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on BMO. TD Securities cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com cut Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 3.8 %

NYSE:BMO opened at $103.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $104.63. The company has a market cap of $75.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.33 and a 200-day moving average of $88.36.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.1329 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 261.6% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $383,449,000 after buying an additional 3,074,389 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 138.4% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,851,629 shares of the bank’s stock worth $407,282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,816,385 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.9% in the third 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. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 36.9% during the second quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 5,239,662 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $439,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the second quarter valued at about $80,915,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.