M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,150,000 shares, a drop of 31.7% from the March 15th total of 4,610,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Activity

In other M&T Bank news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total transaction of $299,526.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,852,827.34. This trade represents a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On M&T Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,195,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 971 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in M&T Bank by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

M&T Bank Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MTB traded up $4.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $166.40. 654,612 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,114,539. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $175.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.00. M&T Bank has a 1 year low of $139.78 and a 1 year high of $225.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.58.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($0.03). M&T Bank had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.12%. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.09 EPS. Equities analysts expect that M&T Bank will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. M&T Bank's payout ratio is 36.17%.

M&T Bank declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MTB. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on M&T Bank from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $212.50 to $186.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $234.00 to $205.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on M&T Bank from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $208.14.

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