Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Bank of Montreal has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from ten covering brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of C$167.42.
• The bank recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.63 per share, representing a 3.7% yield, up from the previous dividend of $1.59.
• Insider activity included a notable sale, as Alan Tannenbaum sold 9,824 shares at an average price of C$175.12, totaling over C$1.7 million.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$167.42.

BMO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from C$173.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$159.00 to C$176.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$180.00 to C$185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$164.00 to C$173.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$160.00 to C$145.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Alan Tannenbaum sold 9,824 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$175.12, for a total transaction of C$1,720,408.35. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock opened at C$178.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of C$127.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is C$160.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$147.37. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of C$117.97 and a twelve month high of C$178.85.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.59. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is 55.74%.

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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