Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Stock Price Up 5.8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) rose 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $105.78 and last traded at $105.57. Approximately 256,239 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 585,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 4.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $75.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $98.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick 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 dividend of $1.1329 per share. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 63.18%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,494,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,960,491,000 after purchasing an additional 576,744 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,615,141 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,709,215,000 after buying an additional 486,984 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 12,833,065 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,244,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,712 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,215,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,184,636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth $1,014,633,000. 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.