Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Price Target Raised to $163.00

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) had its target price boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $161.00 to $163.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $102.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $99.21 and a 200-day moving average of $93.97. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09.

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 net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS 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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $346,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,215,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,184,636,000 after buying an additional 1,630,962 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,958 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 2,481 shares in the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $817,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $165,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.