Monte Financial Group LLC Cuts Holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Monte Financial Group LLC reduced its holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 404 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank accounts for about 2.4% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $5,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position 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 worth $2,199,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,846 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in M&T Bank during the third quarter worth about $44,422,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in M&T Bank by 3.9% in 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% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 599,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,871,000 after acquiring an additional 141,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MTB shares. Bank of America upped their price target on M&T Bank from $188.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded M&T Bank from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.68.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

Shares of MTB stock opened at $198.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.79. M&T Bank Co. has a one year low of $128.31 and a one year high of $225.70. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.16.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. M&T Bank had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

M&T Bank declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at M&T Bank

In other M&T Bank news, CEO Rene F. Jones sold 23,071 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.88, for a total value of $4,473,005.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 77,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,972,576.88. This represents a 23.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Taylor sold 1,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.03, for a total value of $280,063.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,095,678.54. This represents a 20.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,994 shares of company stock valued at $13,331,878 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Company Profile

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.