Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.75.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. TD Securities lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 138.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,872,642 shares of the bank’s stock worth $976,870,000 after buying an additional 5,729,145 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 38.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,069,787 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,318,457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,874,573 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 1st quarter worth about $307,237,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 138.4% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,851,629 shares of the bank’s stock worth $407,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,816,385 shares during the period. Finally, JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 5,239,662 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $439,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,532 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:BMO opened at $91.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.57. The company has a market cap of $66.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11. 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 has a 12 month low of $73.98 and a 12 month high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.25 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a $1.123 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $4.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.25%.

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.