M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MTB. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.68.

M&T Bank Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MTB opened at $198.67 on Wednesday. M&T Bank has a fifty-two week low of $128.31 and a fifty-two 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. The company has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $198.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.54.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last released its earnings results 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 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 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that M&T Bank will post 16.56 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John P. Barnes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.45, for a total value of $4,349,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,715,126. This represents a 36.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total value of $537,566.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,546,856.81. The trade was a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,397 shares of company stock valued at $6,379,459. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On M&T Bank

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 2,300.0% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in M&T Bank in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in M&T Bank by 54.4% during the 3rd 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. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. 84.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.