M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MTB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $223.50 target price (up previously from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, M&T Bank presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.68.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

NYSE MTB opened at $200.59 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. M&T Bank has a 1 year low of $129.36 and a 1 year 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that M&T Bank will post 16.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

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

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other M&T Bank news, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.75, for a total transaction of $468,210.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,875.75. This trade represents a 29.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael J. Todaro sold 4,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $1,024,682.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,787 shares in the company, valued at $596,696.70. This represents a 63.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,397 shares of company stock worth $6,379,459. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On M&T Bank

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,013,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in M&T Bank by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 34,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,059,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in M&T Bank by 29.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in M&T Bank in the third quarter worth $234,000. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.