Analysts Set Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) PT at C$131.33

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$131.33.

BMO has been the subject of several analyst reports. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$127.00 to C$148.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Desjardins cut their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$125.00 to C$120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from C$147.00 to C$160.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Activity at Bank of Montreal

In other Bank of Montreal news, Senior Officer David Robert Casper sold 12,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was 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 firm’s stock in a transaction 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

TSE: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 firm has a market cap of C$101.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$132.52 and a 200-day moving average price of C$122.50.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.58%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.35%.

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.