Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $128.40.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BMO shares. CIBC lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Bank of Montreal during the third quarter worth $45,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 326,510 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,773,000 after buying an additional 5,821 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 4.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,327,465 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $300,137,000 after acquiring an additional 144,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Passumpsic Savings Bank grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 5,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.6 %

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $93.39 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $96.77 and its 200-day moving average is $96.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $76.98 and a fifty-two week high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 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.