Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 27,324 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,688,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,324 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $317,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in M&T Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $317,690,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 6.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 527,854 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the 3rd quarter worth $44,422,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position 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 period. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In related news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total value of $299,526.92. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Stock Up 2.0 %

M&T Bank stock opened at $179.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $188.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.86. M&T Bank Co. has a twelve month low of $133.03 and a twelve month high of $225.70.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last issued its 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 EPS for the current year.

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

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTB has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $269.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $223.50 target price (up previously from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Compass Point lifted their price target on M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on M&T Bank from $234.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.79.

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