Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $122.40.

A number of brokerages have commented on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, 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.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of BMO opened at $98.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $104.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 67.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2,701.7% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 30,454 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 29,367 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,411,695 shares of the bank’s stock worth $118,371,000 after purchasing an additional 14,809 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 125,572 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,344,000 after purchasing an additional 55,823 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 72.9% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 588,209 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,082,000 after buying an additional 248,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,327,465 shares of the bank’s stock worth $300,137,000 after buying an additional 144,252 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.