SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $140,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTB. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 89.8% in the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the 4th quarter valued at about $290,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 199,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,466,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Price Performance

NYSE MTB opened at $178.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. M&T Bank Co. has a 12-month low of $133.03 and a 12-month high of $225.70. The company has a market capitalization of $29.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $194.07 and its 200-day moving average is $191.56.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. M&T Bank had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MTB. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup downgraded shares of M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of M&T Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.68.

About M&T Bank

M&T Bank Corp. operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking, trust, wealth management and investment services. It operates through the following segments: Business Banking, Commercial Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Discretionary Portfolio, Residential Mortgage Banking, and Retail Banking.