M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Shares Sold by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

V Square Quantitative Management LLC trimmed its stake in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 438 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MTB. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 66,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,517,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 1,262.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,169,000 after buying an additional 20,548 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the fourth quarter valued at $92,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the fourth quarter valued at $150,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the fourth quarter valued at $290,000. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at M&T Bank

In related news, Director John P. Barnes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.45, for a total transaction of $4,349,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,480 shares in the company, valued at $7,715,126. The trade was a 36.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.75, for a total value of $468,210.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,875.75. This represents a 29.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,611 shares of company stock worth $5,354,777 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup cut M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued 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. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.68.

M&T Bank Price Performance

NYSE MTB opened at $198.75 on Monday. M&T Bank Co. has a twelve month low of $133.03 and a twelve month high of $225.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.90.

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 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.56 EPS for the current year.

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

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

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.