Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $100.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $73.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $98.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $76.98 and a 1-year high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.49%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Montreal

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.