Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Insider Selling

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO's share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as C$0.01 and last traded at C$148.75, with a volume of 622869 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$148.76.

Specifically, Senior Officer Nadim Hirji sold 3,238 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$148.87, for a total transaction of C$482,024.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BMO. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$146.00 to C$160.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$140.00 to C$155.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Securities raised their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$145.00 to C$152.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$161.00 to C$163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$149.00.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 1.1 %

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is C$142.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$132.13. The stock has a market capitalization of C$103.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16.

Bank of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.20%.

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.