Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stock Holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB - Free Report) by 1,262.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,548 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in M&T Bank were worth $4,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

M&T Bank Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MTB traded down $4.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $192.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 778,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,178,033. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $31.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.79. M&T Bank Co. has a 12 month low of $133.03 and a 12 month high of $225.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.64.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 19.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in 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 typically 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 will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. M&T Bank's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other M&T Bank news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total value of $537,566.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 29.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. DA Davidson increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $223.50 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on M&T Bank from $205.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.