M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $221.68.

Several research analysts have issued reports on MTB shares. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup cut shares of M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 price target (up previously from $233.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

M&T Bank stock opened at $197.61 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $32.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.79. M&T Bank has a 1-year low of $130.84 and a 1-year high of $225.70.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. On average, analysts expect that M&T Bank will post 16.56 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

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

M&T Bank declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total value of $537,566.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,546,856.81. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.75, for a total transaction of $468,210.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,875.75. This trade represents a 29.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,611 shares of company stock valued at $5,354,777. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On M&T Bank

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,690,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,508,846 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in M&T Bank by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,773,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,562,725,000 after buying an additional 527,854 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in M&T Bank by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,289,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $994,522,000 after buying an additional 252,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in M&T Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,422,000. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

M&T Bank Company 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.