Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Given a C$173.00 Price Target at National Bankshares

Key Points

• National Bankshares has set a price target of C$173.00 for Bank of Montreal, indicating a potential 3.36% downside from its previous close.
• Multiple analysts have recently increased their price targets for the stock, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target of C$167.42.
• Insiders at Bank of Montreal have sold a total of 35,883 shares in the last 90 days, amounting to approximately $5.99 million in transactions.

National Bankshares set a C$173.00 price objective on Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Free Report) NYSE: BMO in a research report released on Monday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the bank's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from C$173.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$161.00 to C$168.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Desjardins increased their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$156.00 to C$165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$159.00 to C$176.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$164.00 to C$173.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$167.42.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.7%

BMO traded up C$1.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching C$180.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 222,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,850,009. The firm has a market capitalization of C$129.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.25. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of C$120.42 and a 1 year high of C$181.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is C$162.70 and its 200-day moving average is C$148.40.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.59. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is 55.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of Montreal

In other news, insider Alan Tannenbaum sold 9,824 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$175.12, for a total transaction of C$1,720,408.35. Also, insider Steven Lloyd Tennyson sold 9,072 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$163.89, for a total transaction of C$1,486,782.86. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,866 shares in the company, valued at C$3,583,553.14. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold a total of 35,883 shares of company stock worth $5,989,740 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Bank of Montreal

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.