M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, a decrease of 15.4% from the December 15th total of 3,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total transaction of $537,566.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $3,546,856.81. The trade was a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.75, for a total value of $468,210.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,134,875.75. The trade was a 29.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 84,994 shares of company stock valued at $17,211,278. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of M&T Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at $547,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in M&T Bank by 7.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 61,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,357,000 after acquiring an additional 4,067 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 5.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 241,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,510,000 after purchasing an additional 13,278 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of M&T Bank by 4.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,781,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $269,696,000 after purchasing an additional 81,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,613,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,129,000 after purchasing an additional 93,113 shares during the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

M&T Bank Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of M&T Bank stock traded down $4.71 on Thursday, reaching $196.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,392,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $202.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.07. M&T Bank has a 52-week low of $128.31 and a 52-week high of $225.70. The firm has a market cap of $32.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.79.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 17.82% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that M&T Bank will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $190.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on M&T Bank from $205.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on M&T Bank from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, M&T Bank currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $216.86.

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.