Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$26.74 and last traded at C$143.47, with a volume of 635775 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$143.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$133.00 to C$161.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$114.00 to C$131.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, National Bankshares raised their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$127.00 to C$148.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$135.92.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.0 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$138.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$126.29. The company has a market cap of C$105.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$140.79, for a total transaction of C$1,601,592.91. Company 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.