Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Upgraded at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has $161.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price target of $133.00.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on BMO. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $97.58 on Wednesday. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $76.98 and a 52 week high of $104.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $96.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.17. 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 $71.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09.

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 paid a $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.64%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 67.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMO. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 261.6% in the 3rd 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 during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,065,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534,508 shares in the last quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 36.9% in the 2nd 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $760,000. 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.