Analysts Set Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) PT at $128.40

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $128.40.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “sector perform” rating on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at $1,014,633,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 213.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,259,505 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $406,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,899,061 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,838,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $664,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044,862 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,215,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,184,636,000 after buying an additional 1,630,962 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 66.5% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,676,637 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $351,154,000 after buying an additional 1,469,084 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $103.53 on Wednesday. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $106.00. The stock has a market cap of $74.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $95.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.17. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.35%.

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.