Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BMO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$205.00 to C$230.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Barclays upped their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$199.00 to C$203.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$226.00 to C$244.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Desjardins raised their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$212.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$242.00 to C$265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$226.46.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of C$230.27 and a 200-day moving average of C$205.45. The stock has a market capitalization of C$178.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G 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 net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 11.25%. The business had revenue of C$9.57 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of Montreal

In related news, insider Sharon Marie Haward-Laird sold 4,519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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, insider Mona Elizabeth Malone sold 4,517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$244.61, for a total value of C$1,104,903.37. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$430,024.38. The trade was a 71.98% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold a total of 45,004 shares of company stock valued at $10,339,904 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company 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.