Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $153.67 and last traded at $152.7150, with a volume of 681793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Barclays lowered Bank Of Montreal from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank Of Montreal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Down 1.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $106.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $141.62 and a 200 day moving average of $133.92.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 11.76%.Bank Of Montreal’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.56%.

Institutional Trading of Bank Of Montreal

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Bank Of Montreal by 87.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 2,673 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter worth $1,018,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Bank Of Montreal by 1.4% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,364 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in Bank Of Montreal by 166.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 411,108 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,518,000 after buying an additional 256,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Bank Of Montreal by 5,614.3% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.