Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 442,971 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the previous session’s volume of 547,868 shares.The stock last traded at $95.69 and had previously closed at $99.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on BMO. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $71.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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 Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.1329 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 63.32%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 207.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bank of Montreal

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.