StockNews.com Downgrades Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) to Sell

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Securities cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $133.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $95.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.78. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $104.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 20,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth about $100,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 18.8% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,277 shares of the bank’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 9.8% in the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,168 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.8% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,256 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

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.