Brokerages Set Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) PT at $122.40

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $122.40.

Several equities analysts have commented on BMO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $133.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BMO opened at $98.19 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $104.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.10.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.1329 dividend. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 67.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMO. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,602 shares of the bank’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,581 shares of the bank’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3.1% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 4,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,092 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.