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

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$145.69.

A number of research firms have commented on BMO. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$163.00 to C$161.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$155.00 to C$129.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$150.00 to C$156.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO traded down C$0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching C$152.96. 2,991,106 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,999,633. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is C$144.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$140.88. The company has a market cap of C$110.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of C$109.02 and a fifty-two week high of C$154.47.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.59. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is presently 61.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of Montreal news, Senior Officer Erminia Johannson sold 4,676 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$147.57, for a total transaction of C$690,023.29. 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.