Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO – Get Rating) (TSE:BMO) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a sell rating. The company traded as low as $90.42 and last traded at $90.88, with a volume of 23916 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.24.
Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Friday, May 20th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Desjardins lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$153.00 to C$150.00 in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$160.00 to C$155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “reduce” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from C$152.50 to C$150.50 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Europe upped their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$157.00 to C$160.00 in a report on Thursday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.72.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $666,860,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 32.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 7,194,489 shares of the bank’s stock worth $836,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749,146 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 17.4% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,425,357 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,346,567,000 after buying an additional 1,690,617 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 114.7% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,987,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $287,302,000 after buying an additional 1,595,950 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 82.7% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,404,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $400,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,161 shares in the last quarter. 42.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Bank of Montreal Stock Performance
The firm has a market capitalization of $61.33 billion, a PE ratio of 6.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.
Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO – Get Rating) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 30th. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $6.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.87 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 33.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 10.37 EPS for the current year.
Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 1st will be paid a $1.086 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 31st. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 30.06%.
About Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company’s personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers.