Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$120.77.

BMO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$135.00 to C$130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$141.00 to C$124.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. National Bankshares cut their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$131.00 to C$127.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Cormark lowered their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$129.00 to C$118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$116.00 to C$120.00 in a research note on Friday, September 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer David Robert Casper sold 12,819 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$121.85, for a total transaction of C$1,562,007.97. In other Bank of Montreal news, Senior Officer Steven Lloyd Tennyson sold 7,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$112.16, for a total transaction of C$886,977.10. Also, Senior Officer David Robert Casper sold 12,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$121.85, for a total value of C$1,562,007.97. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Bank of Montreal stock traded down C$0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching C$122.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,546,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,784,555. The company has a market cap of C$89.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.15. The business's 50 day moving average price is C$116.54 and its 200-day moving average price is C$121.19. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of C$102.67 and a 52 week high of C$133.95.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported C$2.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$2.72 by C($0.08). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 21.20%. The firm had revenue of C$8.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$8.23 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 11.0223814 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.35%.

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.