Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after CIBC raised their price target on the stock from C$120.00 to C$134.00. The company traded as high as C$134.16 and last traded at C$133.63, with a volume of 655030 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$132.68.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Securities upped their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$114.00 to C$131.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$118.00 to C$106.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$141.00 to C$124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from C$134.00 to C$117.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$112.00 to C$147.00 in a report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$128.50.

Insider Activity at Bank of Montreal

In other news, Senior Officer Steven Lloyd Tennyson sold 7,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$112.16, for a total value of C$886,977.10. Also, Senior Officer David Robert Casper sold 12,819 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$121.85, for a total transaction of C$1,562,007.97. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of C$96.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is C$126.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$121.25.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported C$2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.72 by C($0.08). Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 21.20% and a return on equity of 8.49%. The business had revenue of C$8.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$8.23 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company's personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products.