Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Receives $119.75 Average PT from Analysts

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $119.75.

A number of research analysts recently commented on BMO shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $123.00 to $112.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BMO. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal during the first quarter worth $307,237,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 261.6% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074,389 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 138.4% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,851,629 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $407,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,816,385 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,065,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,508 shares during the period. Finally, JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 36.9% in the second quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 5,239,662 shares of the bank’s stock worth $439,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,532 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.3 %

BMO stock opened at $94.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $100.12. The stock has a market cap of $69.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $91.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.28.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.25 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be issued a $1.123 dividend. This represents a $4.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.13%.

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.