Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.00.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BMO. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Desjardins restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO opened at $179.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $165.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bank Of Montreal has a 12-month low of $109.64 and a 12-month high of $179.33.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.14. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 13.04%. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

Institutional Trading of Bank Of Montreal

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,287,878,000 after purchasing an additional 673,248 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Bank Of Montreal by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,372,601 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,519,180,000 after purchasing an additional 293,575 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its position in Bank Of Montreal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,445,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,226,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,500 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,059,320,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,030,219 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $932,242,000 after purchasing an additional 442,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.