Ascent Group LLC Acquires 2,127 Shares of M&T Bank Corporation $MTB

Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $3,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in M&T Bank during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in M&T Bank during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in M&T Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in M&T Bank by 104.6% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in M&T Bank during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. 84.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other M&T Bank news, Director Robert E. Sadler, Jr. sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.52, for a total value of $1,229,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,233,806.40. This represents a 22.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Barnes sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.79, for a total value of $2,996,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,569,448.14. The trade was a 45.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,438 shares of company stock worth $4,964,196. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

M&T Bank Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:MTB opened at $199.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.67. M&T Bank Corporation has a one year low of $150.75 and a one year high of $225.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $195.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.58.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.24. M&T Bank had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that M&T Bank Corporation will post 16.57 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a boost from M&T Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MTB shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Cowen started coverage on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of M&T Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on M&T Bank from $189.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, M&T Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.63.

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: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Institutional Services and Wealth Management, and All Other.