Ruffer LLP Sells 66,263 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Ruffer LLP reduced its stake in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 47.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 72,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,263 shares during the quarter. Ruffer LLP’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $13,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in M&T Bank by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,195,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 9,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,668,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

M&T Bank Price Performance

M&T Bank stock opened at $178.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.77. M&T Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $133.03 and a 1 year high of $225.70. The stock has a market cap of $29.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. 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 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 net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 price target (up from $233.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Friday, January 17th. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.68.

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.