Sage Investment Counsel LLC Purchases New Holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 2,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in M&T Bank during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in M&T Bank by 329.2% during the third 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. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in M&T Bank by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in M&T Bank in the third quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MTB. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 target price (up previously from $233.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut shares of M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.68.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other M&T Bank news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total transaction of $537,566.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

M&T Bank Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MTB opened at $191.68 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. M&T Bank Co. has a 12 month low of $133.03 and a 12 month high of $225.70. The company has a market cap of $31.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.91.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. 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 firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is 36.91%.

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

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.