Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$245.08 and last traded at C$244.81, with a volume of 217868 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$242.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$205.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$227.00 to C$233.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$199.00 to C$203.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Desjardins boosted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, National Bank Financial increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$223.00 to C$236.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$224.54.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a market capitalization of C$172.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is C$217.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$197.99.

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

Bank of Montreal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.69%.

Insider Activity at Bank of Montreal

In related news, insider Sharon Marie Haward-Laird sold 4,519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$225.85, for a total transaction of C$1,020,616.15. Also, Director William Darryl White sold 27,167 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 87,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$19,676,852.84. This trade represents a 23.76% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold a total of 35,487 shares of company stock valued at $8,011,751 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.