Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Receives C$228.96 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$239.75.

BMO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$199.00 to C$203.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$205.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. TD boosted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$239.00 to C$263.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$242.00 to C$265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$234.00 to C$239.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of Montreal

In other news, insider Mona Elizabeth Malone sold 4,517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$244.61, for a total transaction of C$1,104,903.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,758 shares in the company, valued at C$430,024.38. This trade represents a 71.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director William Darryl White sold 27,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$225.74, for a total value of C$6,132,678.58. Following the transaction, the director owned 87,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$19,676,852.84. This trade represents a 23.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,004 shares of company stock worth $10,339,904. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:BMO opened at C$257.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of C$248.29 and a 200-day moving average of C$217.45. The company has a market capitalization of C$180.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of C$155.58 and a 52-week high of C$258.21.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported C$3.67 EPS for the quarter. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 12.63%.The firm had revenue of C$9.57 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

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

About Bank of Montreal

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.