M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) to Repurchase $4.00 billion in Stock

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 22nd, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of M&T Bank from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup downgraded M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on M&T Bank from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $190.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $188.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, M&T Bank has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.68.

M&T Bank Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE MTB traded down $2.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $195.58. 1,295,034 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,451,823. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50-day moving average is $201.76 and its 200-day moving average is $184.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.79. M&T Bank has a twelve month low of $128.31 and a twelve month high of $225.70.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. M&T Bank had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 19.24%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that M&T Bank will post 16.56 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Insider Activity

In other M&T Bank news, EVP John R. Taylor sold 1,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.03, for a total transaction of $280,063.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,095,678.54. The trade was a 20.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.75, for a total value of $468,210.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,875.75. The trade was a 29.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,994 shares of company stock valued at $13,331,878. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.