Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$259.20 and last traded at C$258.69, with a volume of 343071 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$257.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$213.00 to C$225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$199.00 to C$203.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$226.00 to C$244.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$239.75.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of C$177.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$249.31 and a 200-day moving average price of C$218.61.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported C$3.67 earnings per share 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. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of Montreal

In other news, insider Mona Elizabeth Malone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$244.65, for a total value of C$1,223,250.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$430,094.70. This represents a 73.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director William Darryl White sold 27,167 shares of the firm’s 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. This trade represents a 23.76% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold 45,004 shares of company stock worth $10,339,904 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.