DnB Asset Management AS Sells 25,019 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

DnB Asset Management AS decreased its holdings in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 355,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,019 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $66,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Compass Point increased their price objective on M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on M&T Bank from $269.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $230.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total value of $299,526.92. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

Shares of MTB opened at $179.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $29.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. M&T Bank Co. has a 12 month low of $133.03 and a 12 month high of $225.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $189.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.40.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

M&T Bank announced that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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