M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,228 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in M&T Bank were worth $14,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,349,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,199,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,846 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 6.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,773,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,562,725,000 after purchasing an additional 527,854 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in M&T Bank by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,289,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $994,522,000 after purchasing an additional 252,583 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in M&T Bank during the third quarter worth about $44,422,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in M&T Bank by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 807,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,315,000 after purchasing an additional 244,709 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MTB shares. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson increased their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $234.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.03.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total transaction of $299,526.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,852,827.34. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Price Performance

M&T Bank stock opened at $178.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.04. The stock has a market cap of $29.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. M&T Bank Co. has a 12-month low of $133.03 and a 12-month high of $225.70.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 previous year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

M&T Bank announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.