Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 8,729 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,729 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $4,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new position in M&T Bank in the 4th quarter worth $585,000. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 35,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,712,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 14,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,672,000 after buying an additional 2,872 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 18,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,548,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475 shares during the period. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $188.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $223.50 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.68.

Insider Activity at M&T Bank

In other news, Director Kirk W. Walters sold 1,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.22, for a total transaction of $334,249.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,143.76. This represents a 43.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.75, for a total value of $468,210.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,487 shares of company stock worth $8,182,809. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Price Performance

MTB stock opened at $200.51 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.28. M&T Bank Co. has a 52 week low of $128.31 and a 52 week high of $225.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.79.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the business posted $2.74 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.