Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$149.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$146.00 to C$160.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$140.00 to C$155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada set a C$163.00 price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$147.00 to C$155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BMO opened at C$140.22 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$142.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$134.49. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of C$109.02 and a 12 month high of C$151.08. The company has a market capitalization of C$101.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16.

Bank of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Nadim Hirji sold 3,238 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$148.87, for a total value of C$482,024.87. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal is a diversified financial-services provider based in North America, operating four business segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, U.S. P&C banking, wealth management, and capital markets.