Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Receives $127.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $127.50.

Several analysts have commented on BMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Desjardins lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 3,375.0% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 417 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BMO opened at $83.34 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $60.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 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 has a 1-year low of $73.98 and a 1-year high of $100.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.28.

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

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a $1.125 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $4.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.40%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 75.25%.

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.