Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Bank of Montreal's stock reached a new 52-week high after an upgrade from Royal Bank of Canada, raising their price target from $161.00 to $168.00.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, increasing its annualized yield to 5.5%, which is a boost from the previous quarterly dividend of $1.18.
• Institutional investors increased their stakes in Bank of Montreal significantly, with Public Sector Pension Investment Board growing its stake by 2,986.1% in the latest quarter.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO's stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $161.00 to $168.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Bank Of Montreal traded as high as $120.30 and last traded at $119.03, with a volume of 1323130 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.39.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. CIBC reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Bank Of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays cut Bank Of Montreal from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,246 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,134,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 64.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,783 shares of the bank's stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2,986.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,170,118 shares of the bank's stock valued at $240,009,000 after buying an additional 2,099,800 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,684 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 5,267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $112.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.21. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.61% and a net margin of 11.00%.The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Bank Of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 30th. Bank Of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.13%.

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.

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