Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO – Get Rating) (TSE:BMO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BMO. Bank of America downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$151.00 to C$147.50 in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. Credit Suisse Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Monday, December 19th. They set an outperform rating for the company. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $155.75.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $96.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $68.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.15. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $81.57 and a 1-year high of $122.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $97.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO – Get Rating) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 1st. The bank reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.01). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 22.13%. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 9.87 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 27th. This represents a $4.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 34.34%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.78% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Montreal

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Bank of Montreal engages in the provision of banking and financial services to individuals and institutions. It operates through the following segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking (Canadian P&C) and United States Personal and Commercial Banking (U.S. P&C). The Canadian P&C segment refers to retail banking and financial operations in Canada.