Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.8 %

Bank of Montreal stock opened at $100.42 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $98.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $73.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.1329 per share. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 244.1% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.