Analysts Set Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Price Target at $128.40

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $128.40.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,422 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.1% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 5,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,602 shares of the bank’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,865 shares of the bank’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:BMO opened at $97.07 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $99.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $106.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

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.