Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $6,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in M&T Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in M&T Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MTB shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 target price (up previously from $233.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Compass Point increased their price target on M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson increased their price target on M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded M&T Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, M&T Bank has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.68.

M&T Bank Stock Down 2.0 %

MTB opened at $193.48 on Friday. M&T Bank Co. has a 12 month low of $133.03 and a 12 month high of $225.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $31.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $195.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.08.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.75, for a total transaction of $468,210.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,875.75. This trade represents a 29.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total value of $537,566.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,546,856.81. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

M&T Bank 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.