Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Trims Stake in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its stake in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 37.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,436 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $4,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in M&T Bank during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of M&T Bank in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MTB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson upped their price target on M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $223.50 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised M&T Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on M&T Bank from $205.00 to $185.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total value of $299,526.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,852,827.34. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Stock Down 2.5 %

MTB opened at $175.21 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $189.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.80. M&T Bank Co. has a twelve month low of $133.03 and a twelve month high of $225.70. 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 (NYSE:MTB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

M&T Bank declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.