Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the bank’s stock.

BMO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Desjardins lowered Bank of Montreal from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an overweight rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Bank of Montreal from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $127.50.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

BMO stock opened at $84.97 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.81. The company has a market capitalization of $61.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $73.98 and a fifty-two week high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.10). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 8.25%. The company had revenue of $5.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.96 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.30%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 623 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the first quarter worth approximately $105,000. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 171.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,261 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,953 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 454.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 14,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Shipley& Co Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $160,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.