Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Bank of Montreal has a consensus “Hold” rating from 11 brokerages: six recommend buying, four advise holding, and one rates it a sell. The average 12-month price target is C$228.96.
• Several analysts recently raised their targets, including Canaccord Genuity to C$265 with a “buy” rating, while Barclays maintained an “underweight” rating despite increasing its target to C$203.
• The bank increased its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share, implying an annualized payout of $6.84 and a 2.7% yield. Shares opened at C$253.24, near their 12-month high of C$258.21.

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$228.96.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$199.00 to C$203.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$234.00 to C$239.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$242.00 to C$265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$227.00 to C$233.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, TD upped their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$234.00 to C$239.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BMO opened at C$253.24 on Friday. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of C$154.71 and a twelve month high of C$258.21. The company has a market cap of C$177.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is C$245.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$215.12.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported C$3.67 EPS for the quarter. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 11.25%. The firm had revenue of C$9.57 billion during the quarter. Analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is 50.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mona Elizabeth Malone sold 4,517 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider directly owned 1,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$430,024.38. This represents a 71.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Sharon Marie Haward-Laird sold 4,519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$225.85, for a total transaction of C$1,020,616.15. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,004 shares of company stock valued at $10,339,904. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source