Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) saw unusually-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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $175.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.95.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.94 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 13.60%. Bank Of Montreal’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,372,601 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,519,180,000 after acquiring an additional 293,575 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,281,220,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,350,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,128,680,000 after purchasing an additional 123,387 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth about $957,549,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth about $920,002,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank Of Montreal Company Profile

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.