Brokerages Set Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) PT at C$135.92

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$135.92.

Several research firms recently issued reports on BMO. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$134.00 to C$150.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from C$133.00 to C$161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$147.00 to C$160.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BMO stock opened at C$142.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of C$104.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of C$109.02 and a 1-year high of C$147.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$140.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$128.24.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 71.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$140.79, for a total value of C$1,601,592.91. 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.