Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Rating Increased to Sector Outperform at CIBC

CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BMO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 3.8 %

BMO stock traded up $3.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,498,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,557. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $76.98 and a 52 week high of $104.63. The stock has a market cap of $75.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $93.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.38.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.1329 dividend. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,761,836 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,231,564,000 after purchasing an additional 692,049 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,065,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534,508 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 7,312,320 shares of the bank's stock worth $613,138,000 after acquiring an additional 463,924 shares in the last quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 5,239,662 shares of the bank's stock worth $439,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046,721 shares of the bank's stock worth $455,397,000 after acquiring an additional 625,797 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bank of Montreal

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.