Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 46.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in 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 during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 54.4% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the third quarter valued at $44,000. 84.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at M&T Bank

In related news, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.75, for a total value of $468,210.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,875.75. The trade was a 29.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rene F. Jones sold 23,071 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.88, for a total transaction of $4,473,005.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 77,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,972,576.88. This trade represents a 23.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,994 shares of company stock worth $13,331,878. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MTB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $223.50 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded M&T Bank from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.68.

M&T Bank Trading Up 0.9 %

M&T Bank stock opened at $198.81 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $201.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.81. The company has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.79. M&T Bank Co. has a 52 week low of $128.31 and a 52 week high of $225.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.56 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 22nd that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

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.