M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service cut its stake in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 244,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,007 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $45,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MTB. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 2,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 329.2% during the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. 84.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MTB. DA Davidson increased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup cut shares of M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of M&T Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $223.50 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One 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, M&T Bank currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.68.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total transaction of $537,566.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $3,546,856.81. This represents a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Price Performance

M&T Bank stock opened at $189.50 on Friday. M&T Bank Co. has a 12-month low of $133.03 and a 12-month high of $225.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $194.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. Equities analysts predict that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

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

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.