Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $127.50.

BMO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Desjardins lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,319 shares of the bank’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,457 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 6,071 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 36,666.7% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 15,442 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 15,400 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 57,865 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,882,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 23,646 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $83.85 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $89.56 and its 200-day moving average is $92.97. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $73.98 and a 1 year high of $100.12. The company has a market capitalization of $61.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $5.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.96 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 8.25%. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be paid a $1.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.37%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 74.25%.

About Bank of Montreal

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.