Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Receives C$228.96 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$233.83.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$205.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$195.00 to C$196.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$233.50 to C$268.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD lifted their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$239.00 to C$263.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$230.00 to C$260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

BMO stock opened at C$255.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of C$179.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day moving average is C$247.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$216.69. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of C$155.58 and a fifty-two week high of C$258.21.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported C$3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 12.63%.The business had revenue of C$9.57 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.69%.

Insider Activity at Bank of Montreal

In other Bank of Montreal news, insider Mona Elizabeth Malone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$244.65, for a total transaction of C$1,223,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$430,094.70. The trade was a 73.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Sharon Marie Haward-Laird sold 4,519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$225.85, for a total value of C$1,020,616.15. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,004 shares of company stock worth $10,339,904. Corporate 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.