Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $184.21 and last traded at $182.6890, with a volume of 717165 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $125.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.20.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.14. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.04% and a net margin of 12.60%.The business had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This is an increase 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 3.8%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.06%.

Institutional Trading of Bank Of Montreal

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Bank Of Montreal during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,018,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Bank Of Montreal by 1.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in Bank Of Montreal by 166.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.