O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 6,834 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 46,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,834 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $8,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MTB. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in M&T Bank by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 2,018 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its stake in M&T Bank by 89.8% in the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in M&T Bank by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new position in M&T Bank during the fourth quarter worth $290,000. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $297,000. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTB has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of M&T Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Compass Point increased their target price on M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $223.50 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at M&T Bank

In other news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total value of $299,526.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,852,827.34. This trade represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

Shares of M&T Bank stock opened at $178.94 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $29.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $189.08 and a 200-day moving average of $192.90. 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 released its earnings results 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 earned $2.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

M&T Bank announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Institutional Services and Wealth Management, and All Other.