Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $175.54 and last traded at $175.2970, with a volume of 1477375 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BMO shares. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings cut Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Up 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $123.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $161.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.14.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.14. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 13.04%. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th 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 of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 6,300.1% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 479,492 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,233,000 after purchasing an additional 472,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,287,878,000 after purchasing an additional 673,248 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in Bank Of Montreal by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 165,213 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,484,000 after purchasing an additional 23,113 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Bank Of Montreal by 2,127.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 349,694 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,387,000 after purchasing an additional 333,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 99,874 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,032,000 after buying an additional 14,494 shares during the period. 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.