Polaris Capital Management LLC Sells 2,600 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Polaris Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 189,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank accounts for about 1.7% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $35,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MTB. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in M&T Bank by 2,300.0% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in M&T Bank by 329.2% in the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased 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 acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in M&T Bank during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTB has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on M&T Bank from $205.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.68.

M&T Bank Price Performance

NYSE MTB opened at $197.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $32.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.79. M&T Bank Co. has a 12 month low of $130.84 and a 12 month high of $225.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $197.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.15. 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 (NYSE:MTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.56 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is 36.91%.

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

Insider Activity

In other M&T Bank news, Director John P. Barnes sold 20,000 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.45, for a total value of $4,349,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,715,126. The trade was a 36.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.75, for a total value of $468,210.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,611 shares of company stock valued at $5,354,777 over the last ninety days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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: Business Banking, Commercial Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Discretionary Portfolio, Residential Mortgage Banking, and Retail Banking.