M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Stock Position Decreased by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 39.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,302 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,349,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,199,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,846 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in M&T Bank by 6.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,773,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,562,725,000 after buying an additional 527,854 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in M&T Bank during the third quarter valued at about $44,422,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in M&T Bank by 3.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,037,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $897,216,000 after buying an additional 190,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 30.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 599,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,871,000 after buying an additional 141,337 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Price Performance

NYSE:MTB opened at $201.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $200.79 and a 200-day moving average of $185.64. M&T Bank Co. has a 52 week low of $128.31 and a 52 week high of $225.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.93.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. M&T Bank had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 19.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 22nd that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Kevin J. Pearson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.88, for a total transaction of $1,469,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 40,502 shares in the company, valued at $7,933,531.76. This trade represents a 15.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert E. Sadler, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $396,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,899,608. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,487 shares of company stock worth $8,578,809 over the last three months. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on M&T Bank from $188.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 target price (up previously from $233.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.68.

About M&T Bank

M&T Bank Corp. operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking, trust, wealth management and investment services. It operates through the following segments: Business Banking, Commercial Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Discretionary Portfolio, Residential Mortgage Banking, and Retail Banking.