Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) saw strong trading volume on Friday. Approximately 1,593,368 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 100% from the previous session’s volume of 795,712 shares. The stock last traded at $165.9170 and had previously closed at $166.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered Bank Of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $115.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $175.79 and its 200-day moving average is $164.53.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.94 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a C$1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $920,002,000. Tacita Capital Inc bought a new position in Bank Of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth $1,518,000. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in Bank Of Montreal during the 1st quarter worth $3,979,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter worth $235,791,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP bought a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter valued at $72,270,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal, operating under the BMO Financial Group name, is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1817, it is one of Canada’s largest banks and the country’s oldest continuously operating bank.

BMO provides personal and commercial banking services, including deposit accounts, lending, mortgages, credit cards, payment solutions and cash-management products. Through its wealth management businesses, the company offers investment, advisory, private banking, asset-management and retirement-planning services to individuals, families and institutions.

The company also operates a capital markets business that provides investment banking, corporate lending, financial advisory, trading, research and other services to corporations, governments and institutional clients.