Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . 2,596,078 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 226% from the previous session’s volume of 796,293 shares.The stock last traded at $177.2680 and had previously closed at $180.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $123.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.82.

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

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 50.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,287,878,000 after buying an additional 673,248 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,372,601 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,519,180,000 after buying an additional 293,575 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,445,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,226,622,000 after buying an additional 1,245,500 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bank Of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,059,320,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,030,219 shares of the bank’s stock worth $932,242,000 after acquiring an additional 442,812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

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.