Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

BMO has been the topic of several other research reports. CIBC raised Bank Of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $168.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $123.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank Of Montreal has a 12-month low of $85.40 and a 12-month high of $131.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $126.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.21. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 11.00%.The company had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 30th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 30th. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 228.9% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 273 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Bank Of Montreal during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank Of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company’s personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products.