Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$135.92.

BMO has been the subject of several recent research reports. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from C$134.00 to C$150.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$127.00 to C$148.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$114.00 to C$131.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of BMO traded down C$0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching C$142.27. 1,667,753 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,217,233. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of C$109.02 and a 52-week high of C$147.54. The company has a market cap of C$103.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$140.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$128.34.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $1.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of Montreal

In other Bank of Montreal news, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$140.79, for a total transaction of C$1,601,592.91. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.