M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Short Interest Update

M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,370,000 shares, a drop of 23.1% from the October 15th total of 4,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kirk W. Walters sold 2,471 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total value of $60,786.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,414 shares in the company, valued at $502,184.40. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Rene F. Jones sold 23,071 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $14,972,576.88. This trade represents a 23.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,854 shares of company stock valued at $13,637,588 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On M&T Bank

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in M&T Bank by 54.4% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in M&T Bank during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in M&T Bank by 329.2% in the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

Shares of MTB traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $214.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 849,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,415. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $187.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. M&T Bank has a one year low of $123.37 and a one year high of $216.84.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.60 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. M&T Bank had a net margin of 17.82% and a return on equity of 9.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that M&T Bank will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MTB. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of M&T Bank from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on M&T Bank from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised M&T Bank from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $183.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.65.

About M&T Bank

M&T Bank Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company and Wilmington Trust, National Association that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, and Institutional Services and Wealth Management.