Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 2,664,265 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 472% from the previous session’s volume of 465,956 shares.The stock last traded at $100.29 and had previously closed at $100.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $72.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 4.55%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Passumpsic Savings Bank increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 2.1% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 5,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,602 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 3.1% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 4,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,865 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Bank of Montreal by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.