Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Lowered to Sector Perform Rating by Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has downgraded Bank of Montreal's rating from "outperform" to "sector perform," with a new target price of C$163.00, indicating a potential downside of about 9.45% from its current trading price.
• Despite the downgrade, CIBC World Markets and other brokerages have issued varying ratings, including "strong-buy" and "buy," with different target prices going as high as C$185.00.
• Recent insider trading has seen significant shares sold, with insider Steven Lloyd Tennyson selling 9,072 shares at an average price of C$163.89, decreasing their ownership by nearly 30%.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO was downgraded by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. They presently have a C$163.00 target price on the bank's stock, down from their previous target price of C$168.00. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective points to a potential downside of 9.45% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BMO. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$180.00 to C$185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$164.00 to C$170.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Desjardins raised their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$156.00 to C$165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$159.00 to C$176.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$167.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

BMO traded down C$1.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting C$180.02. The company had a trading volume of 2,226,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,811,172. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of C$121.31 and a twelve month high of C$182.90. The company has a market capitalization of C$128.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is C$166.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$150.58.

Insider Transactions at Bank of Montreal

In related news, insider Steven Lloyd Tennyson sold 9,072 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$163.89, for a total transaction of C$1,486,782.86. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,866 shares in the company, valued at C$3,583,553.14. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Alan Tannenbaum sold 9,824 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$175.12, for a total transaction of C$1,720,408.35. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,883 shares of company stock worth $5,989,740. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.