Trexquant Investment LP Buys 12,914 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 74.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,914 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $5,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MTB. Barclays upped their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on M&T Bank from $205.00 to $185.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com upgraded M&T Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $230.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.97.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

NYSE:MTB opened at $157.13 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. M&T Bank Co. has a fifty-two week low of $133.03 and a fifty-two week high of $225.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.54. The company has a market capitalization of $25.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.58.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

M&T Bank announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other M&T Bank news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total value of $299,526.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.