Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB - Free Report) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,626 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in M&T Bank were worth $6,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in M&T Bank by 329.2% in the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 206 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in M&T Bank by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 207 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in M&T Bank during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. 84.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

M&T Bank Trading Up 0.7 %

MTB traded up $1.44 during trading on Monday, reaching $194.97. The company had a trading volume of 480,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,185,327. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. M&T Bank Co. has a 52 week low of $133.03 and a 52 week high of $225.70. The stock has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.29.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. M&T Bank's dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other M&T Bank news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total value of $537,566.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $3,546,856.81. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction 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 owns 5,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,134,875.75. This trade represents a 29.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $223.50 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of M&T Bank from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, M&T Bank currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.