Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Senior Officer Nadim Hirji Sells 2,882 Shares of Stock

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) Senior Officer Nadim Hirji sold 2,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$130.46, for a total value of C$375,985.72.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

BMO opened at C$130.77 on Thursday. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of C$102.67 and a one year high of C$132.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is C$126.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$119.94. The stock has a market capitalization of C$94.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.17.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported C$2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$3.03 by C($0.47). Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The business had revenue of C$7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$8.57 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 11.3700787 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is 83.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BMO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$144.00 to C$136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$137.00 to C$136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$145.00 to C$141.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from C$120.00 to C$145.00 in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, National Bankshares cut their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$141.00 to C$137.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$132.39.

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.