Brokerages Set Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Price Target at $128.40

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $128.40.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. CIBC cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday. They set a “sector perform” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $102.78 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.96. The company has a market cap of $74.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00. 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 (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.35%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 228.9% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 273 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

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.