Brokerages Set Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) PT at $119.75

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $119.75.

BMO has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $134.00 to $117.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Securities downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of BMO opened at $94.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.10. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $100.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $91.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by ($0.12). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. Bank of Montreal’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a $1.123 dividend. This represents a $4.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 623 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 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.