Analysts Set Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) PT at $163.00

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.00.

Several brokerages have weighed in on BMO. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Bank Of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Natl Bk Canada cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, CIBC raised Bank Of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 466.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 238 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter worth $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in Bank Of Montreal by 40.0% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Bank Of Montreal stock opened at $130.94 on Thursday. Bank Of Montreal has a 1-year low of $85.40 and a 1-year high of $132.96. The company has a market capitalization of $92.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $126.19 and a 200-day moving average of $120.85.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 11.76%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.35%.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.