Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Has $31.74 Million Holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership decreased its position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 44.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 168,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 134,225 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $31,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MTB. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 263,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,498,000 after purchasing an additional 15,468 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in M&T Bank by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 123,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,144,000 after acquiring an additional 43,176 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 226.5% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in M&T Bank by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MTB. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on M&T Bank from $205.00 to $185.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson upped their price target on M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on M&T Bank from $230.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, M&T Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.79.

M&T Bank Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of MTB opened at $175.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.99. M&T Bank Co. has a 1-year low of $133.03 and a 1-year high of $225.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $189.44 and a 200 day moving average of $192.44.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

M&T Bank announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other M&T Bank news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total transaction of $299,526.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,852,827.34. This trade represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Institutional Services and Wealth Management, and All Other.