Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Bank of Montreal currently has an average analyst rating of “Hold”, based on coverage from 11 research firms. The consensus 1-year price target is C$226.46, with six buy ratings, four holds, and one sell.
• The bank reported solid recent financial results, including C$3.67 EPS and C$9.57 billion in revenue for the latest quarter. Analysts expect full-year EPS of about 9.65.
• Bank of Montreal also increased its quarterly dividend to C$1.71 per share, up from C$1.67. That works out to an annualized dividend of C$6.84 and a yield of about 2.7%.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$226.46.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$226.00 to C$244.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$234.00 to C$239.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$195.00 to C$196.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$205.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, National Bank Financial upped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$223.00 to C$236.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th.

Insider Activity at Bank of Montreal

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

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

BMO opened at C$252.99 on Tuesday. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of C$151.06 and a one year high of C$254.70. The business's 50-day simple moving average is C$231.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$205.97. The stock has a market capitalization of C$178.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported C$3.67 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$9.57 billion during the quarter. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 11.25%. On average, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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