Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$26.30 and last traded at C$128.29, with a volume of 544205 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$129.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BMO. Cormark dropped their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$129.00 to C$118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank cut shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from C$123.00 to C$112.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$135.00 to C$130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group set a C$122.00 price target on Bank of Montreal and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from C$134.00 to C$117.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$120.77.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$118.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$120.90. The firm has a market capitalization of C$93.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported C$2.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.72 by C($0.08). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 21.20%. The firm had revenue of C$8.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$8.23 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

Insider Activity at Bank of Montreal

In other news, Senior Officer David Robert Casper sold 12,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$121.85, for a total transaction of C$1,562,007.97. In related news, Senior Officer Steven Lloyd Tennyson sold 7,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$112.16, for a total transaction of C$886,977.10. Also, Senior Officer David Robert Casper sold 12,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$121.85, for a total transaction of C$1,562,007.97. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.