Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Receives $131.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $127.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Desjardins cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $87.53 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.90. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $73.98 and a 1 year high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be paid a $1.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.14%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 74.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3,375.0% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 417 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 63.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.