Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Trims Holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. trimmed its position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,003 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $4,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered shares of 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 report on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $223.50 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson increased 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 report on Friday, January 17th. One investment 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.03.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

MTB stock opened at $176.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. M&T Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $133.03 and a 1 year high of $225.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $191.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.00.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

M&T Bank declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 22nd that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total transaction of $299,526.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,852,827.34. This trade represents a 13.92 % 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. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

About M&T Bank

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.