Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $179.96 and last traded at $179.33, with a volume of 19446 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $178.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMO has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 1.3%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.18 and a 200-day moving average of $149.42. 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 firm has a market cap of $126.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.93.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.98 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.04% and a net margin of 12.60%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th will be given a $1.71 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 3.8%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 293,575 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,245,500 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,059,320,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 6.7% during the 4th 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.