Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BMO. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price target 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$199.00 to C$203.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. National Bank Financial raised their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$236.00 to C$278.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$234.00 to C$239.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$242.00 to C$265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$239.75.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is C$248.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$217.66. The firm has a market cap of C$180.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.69%.

Insider Transactions at Bank of Montreal

In related news, Director William Darryl White sold 27,167 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were 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 approximately C$19,676,852.84. The trade was a 23.76% decrease in their position. Also, insider Sharon Marie Haward-Laird sold 4,519 shares of the firm’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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,004 shares of company stock worth $10,339,904. 0.03% of the stock is owned by 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.