Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from C$242.00 to C$265.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Bank of Montreal traded as high as C$252.33 and last traded at C$252.15, with a volume of 808308 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$250.15.

BMO has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$199.00 to C$203.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$205.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$234.00 to C$239.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$195.00 to C$196.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, TD lifted their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$234.00 to C$239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$226.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of Montreal

In related news, Director William Darryl White sold 27,167 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$225.74, for a total transaction of C$6,132,678.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$19,676,852.84. The trade was a 23.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Sharon Marie Haward-Laird sold 4,519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$225.85, for a total value of C$1,020,616.15. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,004 shares of company stock worth $10,339,904. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.5%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$225.85 and its 200 day moving average price is C$202.89. The firm has a market capitalization of C$177.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported C$3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$9.57 billion during the quarter. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 11.25%. On average, analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 50.69%.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

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.