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

Key Points

• Bank of Montreal shares reached a new 52-week high after Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target from C$150.00 to C$164.00.
• The bank is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, an increase from the previous $1.59, representing a 4.1% yield.
• Currently, the consensus rating for Bank of Montreal is "Hold," with eight analysts holding it and five issuing a buy rating.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from C$150.00 to C$164.00. The company traded as high as C$157.73 and last traded at C$157.76, with a volume of 1612095 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$156.07.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on BMO. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Desjardins boosted their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$152.00 to C$156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$160.00 to C$145.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$163.00 to C$161.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$150.00 to C$156.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$148.46.

Insider Activity at Bank of Montreal

In other news, Senior Officer Erminia Johannson sold 4,676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$147.57, for a total transaction of C$690,023.29. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 1.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of C$114.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The business's 50-day moving average is C$151.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$143.48.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.59. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.20%.

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.

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