River Road Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 820 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in M&T Bank were worth $4,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MTB. Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in M&T Bank by 17,405.3% in the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 5,273,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,417,000 after buying an additional 5,243,349 shares in the last quarter. Spring Creek Capital LLC grew its stake in M&T Bank by 217.0% in the 1st quarter. Spring Creek Capital LLC now owns 3,339,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,759,000 after buying an additional 2,286,251 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in M&T Bank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $231,022,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in M&T Bank by 76.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,560,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after buying an additional 1,538,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in M&T Bank by 71.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,986,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $433,291,000 after buying an additional 1,246,265 shares in the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

M&T Bank Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MTB opened at $139.04 on Thursday. M&T Bank Co. has a 52-week low of $108.53 and a 52-week high of $148.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $139.61 and a 200 day moving average of $132.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.94.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.11). M&T Bank had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 19.52%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 13.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is 35.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at M&T Bank

In other M&T Bank news, Director Kirk W. Walters sold 28,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $4,182,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,367 shares in the company, valued at $923,215. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other M&T Bank news, EVP Doris P. Meister sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.30, for a total transaction of $132,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $962,350.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kirk W. Walters sold 28,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $4,182,525.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $923,215. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,481 shares of company stock worth $5,114,624 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MTB shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 price objective on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $139.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.98.

M&T Bank Company Profile

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.