Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 2,664,265 shares traded hands during mid-day 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

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

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 1.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $72.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.57.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.1329 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 63.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently 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.