Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 2,829,416 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 307% from the previous session's volume of 694,566 shares.The stock last traded at $91.84 and had previously closed at $92.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMO has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.1 %

The company's 50 day moving average is $94.23 and its 200 day moving average is $90.09. The company has a market cap of $67.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 7.40%. As a group, analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1172 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal's payout ratio is presently 62.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 300,456.3% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 105,510,305 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,439,190,000 after acquiring an additional 105,475,200 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at about $812,644,000. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 138.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,872,642 shares of the bank's stock worth $976,870,000 after acquiring an additional 5,729,145 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,225,705 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,911,635,000 after acquiring an additional 3,187,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 10.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,783,968 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,247,154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,298 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

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.