Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 21,881 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB - Free Report) by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,626 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,881 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.05% of M&T Bank worth $15,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MTB. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 1.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 199,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,466,000 after buying an additional 2,797 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 331,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,267,000 after acquiring an additional 18,566 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 32,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,964,000 after acquiring an additional 12,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 268,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,761,000 after acquiring an additional 13,302 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other news, Director Denis J. Salamone sold 10,000 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.03, for a total transaction of $1,720,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,724,491.06. This trade represents a 18.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Taylor sold 1,436 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.03, for a total value of $280,063.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,095,678.54. The trade was a 20.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,383 shares of company stock worth $13,576,801. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised M&T Bank from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $183.00 to $215.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded M&T Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $199.65.

M&T Bank Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MTB traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $214.93. 39,450 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,037,805. The company's fifty day moving average is $189.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. M&T Bank Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.46 and a fifty-two week high of $216.84. The stock has a market cap of $35.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.74.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.60 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. M&T Bank had a net margin of 17.82% and a return on equity of 9.52%. On average, analysts expect that M&T Bank Co. will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. M&T Bank's dividend payout ratio is 39.97%.

About M&T Bank

M&T Bank Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company and Wilmington Trust, National Association that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, and Institutional Services and Wealth Management.