Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Receives $128.40 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $128.40.

A number of research firms have issued reports on BMO. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. CIBC downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank began coverage on Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sector perform” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the first quarter valued at $254,000. United Services Automobile Association increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 24,153 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,304,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 121.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 17,363 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,658,000 after buying an additional 9,530 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 1st quarter worth about $1,886,000. Finally, Plancorp LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 1st quarter worth about $211,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO opened at $102.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $74.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 57.35%.

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.