Optas LLC Takes $247,000 Position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Optas LLC bought a new position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTB. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in M&T Bank during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in M&T Bank by 54.4% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in M&T Bank by 329.2% during the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 206 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in M&T Bank during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company's stock.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

Shares of M&T Bank stock traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $200.59. 906,333 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,306,269. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $197.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.79. M&T Bank Co. has a one year low of $129.36 and a one year 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.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. M&T Bank's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

Insider Activity at M&T Bank

In other M&T Bank news, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.75, for a total transaction of $468,210.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,134,875.75. This trade represents a 29.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Barnes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.45, for a total transaction of $4,349,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,715,126. This trade represents a 36.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,397 shares of company stock worth $6,379,459. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up previously from $233.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $221.68.

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.