Xponance Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Xponance Inc. lessened its stake in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,170 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $4,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in M&T Bank in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in M&T Bank in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of M&T Bank in the 3rd quarter worth $91,000. 84.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the company’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 transaction of $299,526.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,852,827.34. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

M&T Bank Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MTB opened at $176.93 on Friday. M&T Bank Co. has a 1-year low of $133.03 and a 1-year high of $225.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.00. The stock has a market cap of $29.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the business earned $2.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank declared that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MTB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $223.50 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Compass Point increased their target price on M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on M&T Bank from $234.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $269.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.03.

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.