Morgan Stanley Cuts M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) Price Target to $245.00

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $271.00 to $245.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MTB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on M&T Bank from $217.00 to $244.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on M&T Bank from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on M&T Bank from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on M&T Bank from $217.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, M&T Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.50.

M&T Bank Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:MTB opened at $210.25 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $216.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.79. The stock has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. M&T Bank has a 12 month low of $150.75 and a 12 month high of $239.00.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that M&T Bank will post 16.57 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other M&T Bank news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.79, for a total value of $191,405.73. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,548,882.34. The trade was a 5.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kirk W. Walters sold 909 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.37, for a total value of $206,679.33. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,358,763.12. This represents a 13.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 49,092 shares of company stock worth $11,182,250 over the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of M&T Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in shares of M&T Bank by 46.8% during the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 433,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,704,000 after acquiring an additional 138,173 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in M&T Bank by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 342,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,665,000 after acquiring an additional 56,750 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in M&T Bank by 120.3% in the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 17,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,542,000 after acquiring an additional 9,788 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in M&T Bank by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 8,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 2,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 86,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,140,000 after purchasing an additional 13,889 shares in the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About M&T Bank

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.