Brokerages Set Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Target Price at C$226.46

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$226.46.

A number of research firms recently commented on BMO. Barclays lifted their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$199.00 to C$203.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$227.00 to C$233.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. TD raised their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$234.00 to C$239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$195.00 to C$196.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, National Bank Financial lifted their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$223.00 to C$236.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO stock opened at C$256.44 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$234.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$207.62. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of C$151.06 and a one year high of C$258.08. The stock has a market cap of C$180.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported C$3.67 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$9.57 billion for the quarter. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 11.25%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of Montreal

In other news, insider Sharon Marie Haward-Laird sold 4,519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$225.85, for a total transaction of C$1,020,616.15. Also, Director William Darryl White sold 27,167 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$225.74, for a total transaction of C$6,132,678.58. Following the sale, the director directly owned 87,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$19,676,852.84. The trade was a 23.76% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold a total of 45,004 shares of company stock worth $10,339,904 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal is a diversified financial-services provider based in North America, operating four business segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, U.S. P&C banking, wealth management, and capital markets.