M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) to Buyback $5.00 billion in Stock

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 31st, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

M&T Bank Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE:MTB traded up $5.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $206.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,681,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,263,168. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $30.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.69. M&T Bank has a twelve month low of $150.75 and a twelve month high of $239.00.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.47 by $0.25. M&T Bank had a net margin of 21.55% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that M&T Bank will post 16.57 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is presently 35.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MTB shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on M&T Bank from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of M&T Bank from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $217.00 to $244.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other M&T Bank news, Director Kirk W. Walters sold 909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.37, for a total transaction of $206,679.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,358,763.12. This trade represents a 13.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Barnes sold 21,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.85, for a total value of $4,998,369.05. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,571,240.70. This represents a 58.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,092 shares of company stock valued at $11,182,250. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Company Profile

M&T Bank Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions. The company operates a commercial and retail banking franchise that includes deposit-taking, lending, and payment services delivered through branch networks, digital channels and commercial banking teams. M&T serves customers across the northeastern and mid‑Atlantic United States and has expanded its geographic footprint through strategic acquisitions.

Its core businesses include commercial banking for middle‑market and community businesses, consumer and retail banking, mortgage origination and servicing, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and trust services.