Vestcor Inc Sells 659 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 659 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 47.5% during the fourth 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 bought a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the third quarter worth $91,000. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTB opened at $175.69 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $192.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.15. M&T Bank Co. has a 1-year low of $133.03 and a 1-year high of $225.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share 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 last year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

M&T Bank announced that its board has approved 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 repurchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on MTB shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 target price (up previously from $233.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $269.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.03.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total transaction of $299,526.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,827.34. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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: Business Banking, Commercial Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Discretionary Portfolio, Residential Mortgage Banking, and Retail Banking.