Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$134.71 and last traded at C$134.60, with a volume of 69806 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$134.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BMO. National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$127.00 to C$148.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from C$134.00 to C$117.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$112.00 to C$147.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Cormark decreased their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$129.00 to C$118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$114.00 to C$131.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$128.50.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$101.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$128.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$121.59.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer David Robert Casper sold 12,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$121.85, for a total value of C$1,562,007.97. Insiders own 0.03% 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.