Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $99.68 on Tuesday. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $104.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.27. The company has a market cap of $72.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09.

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 Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.1329 per share. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 63.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Passumpsic Savings Bank grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 5,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,602 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,865 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.