Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $128.00.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 473.7% during the 4th quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 1,595 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 1,317 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,407,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $760,000. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 225,823 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,874,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 4,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $97.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09. 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 fifty day moving average price of $96.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.34. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.1329 dividend. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.18%.

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.