M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) Downgraded to Underweight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $165.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $170.00.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MTB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on M&T Bank from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of M&T Bank from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on M&T Bank from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, M&T Bank has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $173.85.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

MTB stock traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $162.71. 380,353 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,029,252. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $156.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.55. M&T Bank has a 52 week low of $108.53 and a 52 week high of $176.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 0.94.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.23. M&T Bank had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 17.84%. The business had revenue of $3.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that M&T Bank will post 14.24 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from M&T Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other M&T Bank news, Director Robert E. Sadler, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.23, for a total transaction of $172,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,476,225.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert E. Sadler, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.23, for a total value of $172,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,476,225.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.50, for a total transaction of $86,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $2,834,002.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,228 shares of company stock worth $3,334,262 in the last three months. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On M&T Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MTB. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $11,759,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in M&T Bank by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,371,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of M&T Bank by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 36,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,965,000 after purchasing an additional 15,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $307,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

About M&T Bank

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.