Essex Financial Services Inc. Trims Holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB - Free Report) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,413 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $1,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in M&T Bank by 13.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,349,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,199,675,000 after buying an additional 1,508,846 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,773,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,562,725,000 after acquiring an additional 527,854 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of M&T Bank by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,037,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $897,216,000 after acquiring an additional 190,837 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,329,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $768,824,000 after purchasing an additional 66,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Senvest Management LLC boosted its position in M&T Bank by 12.3% during the third quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 882,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $157,252,000 after purchasing an additional 96,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company's stock.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

MTB stock traded up $1.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $198.75. 1,197,277 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,306,269. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.99. M&T Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $133.03 and a 1 year high of $225.70. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $195.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.80. The company has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.79.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. On average, equities 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 buyback program on Wednesday, January 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. M&T Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

Insider Activity at M&T Bank

In other news, 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 transaction of $468,210.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,134,875.75. The trade was a 29.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John P. Barnes sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,480 shares in the company, valued at $7,715,126. This represents a 36.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,611 shares of company stock worth $5,354,777 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MTB. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $190.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $221.68.

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.