Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada to “Outperform” Rating

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has C$161.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price objective of C$133.00.

BMO has been the topic of several other reports. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from C$147.00 to C$160.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. TD Securities upped their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$114.00 to C$131.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from C$134.00 to C$150.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$135.92.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:BMO opened at C$141.55 on Wednesday. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of C$109.02 and a 52-week high of C$147.54. The company has a market capitalization of C$103.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$135.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$124.40.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $1.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$140.79, for a total transaction of C$1,601,592.91. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.