Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Sets New 12-Month High at $25.15

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$25.15 and last traded at C$126.15, with a volume of 605760 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$127.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on BMO shares. Desjardins lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$135.00 to C$133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$134.00 to C$130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$145.00 to C$141.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. CIBC lowered their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$125.00 to C$120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, TD Securities cut their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$140.00 to C$135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$132.39.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of C$91.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is C$127.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$121.36.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported C$2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$3.03 by C($0.47). The company had revenue of C$7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$8.57 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 7.28%. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 11.3809947 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of Montreal news, Director Darrel Hackett sold 3,297 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$91.76, for a total value of C$302,532.72. In other Bank of Montreal news, Senior Officer Nadim Hirji sold 2,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$130.46, for a total transaction of C$375,985.72. Also, Director Darrel Hackett sold 3,297 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$91.76, for a total transaction of C$302,532.72. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.