Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Receives C$131.33 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$131.33.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from C$134.00 to C$117.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. TD Securities upped their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$114.00 to C$131.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$118.00 to C$106.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Cormark decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$129.00 to C$118.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer David Robert Casper sold 12,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. Also, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$140.79, for a total transaction of C$1,601,592.91. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO opened at C$138.84 on Monday. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of C$109.02 and a fifty-two week high of C$147.54. The company has a market cap of C$101.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$132.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$122.56.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.59 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 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.