Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Receives $128.40 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $128.40.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BMO shares. Cibc World Mkts lowered Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC lowered Bank of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday. They issued a "sector perform" rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE BMO traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.78. 1,555,415 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 853,489. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business's fifty day moving average price is $95.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.96.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,014,633,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $406,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899,061 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in 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 worth $664,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044,862 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,215,628 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,184,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,962 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 66.5% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,676,637 shares of the bank's stock worth $351,154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469,084 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently 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.