M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $244.89.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial started coverage on M&T Bank in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on M&T Bank from $301.00 to $294.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on M&T Bank from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $215.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th.

M&T Bank Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTB opened at $220.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.03. M&T Bank has a 12 month low of $179.75 and a 12 month high of $255.95.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $5.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.93 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. M&T Bank had a return on equity of 11.86% and a net margin of 22.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.82 EPS. Analysts expect that M&T Bank will post 19.48 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.32%.

Insider Activity at M&T Bank

In other M&T Bank news, CEO Rene F. Jones sold 19,396 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.35, for a total value of $4,642,432.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,851,949.85. The trade was a 15.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rudina Seseri sold 623 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.04, for a total transaction of $150,167.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $879,554.96. This trade represents a 14.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,028 shares of company stock worth $4,794,884. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of M&T Bank

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of M&T Bank by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 265.3% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Focused Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 31.6% in the third quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 1,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in M&T Bank by 7.7% in the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in M&T Bank by 30.6% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 108,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,685,000 after purchasing an additional 25,528 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Company Profile

M&T Bank Corporation is a regional financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Its principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, was founded in 1856 and provides financial products and services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

The company’s offerings include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, credit cards, treasury management and other banking services. Through its wealth management and institutional businesses, including Wilmington Trust, M&T also provides investment management, fiduciary, trust, estate planning and related corporate services.

M&T Bank serves customers through branch locations and digital banking channels in several states, primarily across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.