Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$125.42 and traded as high as C$143.78. Bank of Montreal shares last traded at C$143.32, with a volume of 1,560,077 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$127.00 to C$148.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$134.00 to C$150.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$147.00 to C$160.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$114.00 to C$131.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$135.92.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm has a market cap of C$104.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is C$137.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$125.61.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of Montreal

In other Bank of Montreal news, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$140.79, for a total transaction of C$1,601,592.91. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal is a diversified financial-services provider based in North America, operating four business segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, U.S. P&C banking, wealth management, and capital markets.