Ballentine Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 398 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of M&T Bank by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,349,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,199,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,846 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in M&T Bank by 6.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,773,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,562,725,000 after purchasing an additional 527,854 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in M&T Bank by 3.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,037,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $897,216,000 after buying an additional 190,837 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,329,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,824,000 after buying an additional 66,337 shares during the period. Finally, Senvest Management LLC lifted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 882,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,252,000 after buying an additional 96,500 shares in the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MTB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $190.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America increased their price target on M&T Bank from $188.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, M&T Bank currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at M&T Bank

In related news, Vice Chairman Kevin J. Pearson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.88, for a total transaction of $1,469,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 40,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,933,531.76. This represents a 15.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total transaction of $537,566.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,546,856.81. The trade was a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,994 shares of company stock worth $13,331,878 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MTB opened at $196.96 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $128.31 and a 12-month high of $225.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $201.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.79.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 19.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is 36.91%.

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

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.