Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$135.92.

Several brokerages have weighed in on BMO. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$134.00 to C$150.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from C$147.00 to C$160.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$114.00 to C$131.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$133.00 to C$161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock opened at C$142.84 on Friday. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of C$109.02 and a one year high of C$147.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$136.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$125.30. The company has a market capitalization of C$104.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 71.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of Montreal

In related news, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$140.79, for a total value of C$1,601,592.91. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal is a diversified financial-services provider based in North America, operating four business segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, U.S. P&C banking, wealth management, and capital markets.