Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as C$254.70 and last traded at C$252.79, with a volume of 523790 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$253.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 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. TD lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$234.00 to C$239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$195.00 to C$196.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. National Bank Financial lifted their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$223.00 to C$236.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Desjardins upped their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$212.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$226.46.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.0%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$230.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$205.45. The company has a market cap of C$178.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.