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

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

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Bank of Montreal stock opened at C$132.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$95.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.17. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of C$102.67 and a fifty-two week high of C$132.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is C$126.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$120.02.

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

Bank of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 83.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. CIBC lowered their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$125.00 to C$120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Cormark lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$128.00 to C$127.00 in a report on Monday, December 4th. National Bankshares reduced their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$141.00 to C$137.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$144.00 to C$136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$134.00 to C$130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.