Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 2,531 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lessened its position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,531 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $7,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 2,300.0% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTB opened at $170.28 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $192.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.77. 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 stock has a market cap of $27.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. M&T Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $133.03 and a 1 year high of $225.70.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid 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 dividend yield of 3.17%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

M&T Bank announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MTB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $223.50 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $234.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, M&T Bank currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.03.

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.