Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Royal Bank of Canada

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on BMO. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $96.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $70.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.96. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $104.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 244.1% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

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.