Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Upgraded at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Free Report) NYSE: BMO from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have C$161.00 price target on the bank's stock, up from their previous price target of C$133.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BMO. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from C$147.00 to C$160.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$134.00 to C$150.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, National Bankshares raised their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$127.00 to C$148.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$135.92.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.7 %

Bank of Montreal stock traded up C$2.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting C$141.55. 2,985,854 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,937,375. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of C$109.02 and a one year high of C$147.54. The company has a market cap of C$103.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day moving average price is C$135.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$124.21.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is 71.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of the 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 value of C$1,601,592.91. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.