Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from C$240.00 to C$242.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Bank of Montreal traded as high as C$231.98 and last traded at C$229.72, with a volume of 395371 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$229.23.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on 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. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$226.00 to C$244.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$209.00 to C$234.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. National Bank Financial raised their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$223.00 to C$236.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$195.00 to C$196.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$224.13.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of Montreal news, insider Sharon Marie Haward-Laird sold 4,519 shares of Bank of Montreal 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, Director William Darryl White sold 27,167 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$225.74, for a total value of C$6,132,678.58. Following the transaction, the director owned 87,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$19,676,852.84. This represents a 23.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,487 shares of company stock worth $8,011,751. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.0%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$207.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$193.60. The stock has a market capitalization of C$160.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.26.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported C$3.67 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 50.69%.

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.