Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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 report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $98.43 on Wednesday. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $104.63. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.1329 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase 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 4.60%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in 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 increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 138.4% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,851,629 shares of the bank’s stock worth $407,282,000 after buying an additional 2,816,385 shares during the period. 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 boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,412,532 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at about $760,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.