Essential Planning LLC. Takes $9.46 Million Position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 47,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,459,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in M&T Bank by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,349,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,199,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,846 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in M&T Bank by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,773,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,562,725,000 after purchasing an additional 527,854 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in M&T Bank by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,289,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $994,522,000 after purchasing an additional 252,583 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of M&T Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,422,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 807,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,315,000 after acquiring an additional 244,709 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MTB opened at $171.40 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $193.44 and its 200 day moving average is $192.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.99 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 stock has a market capitalization of $28.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company earned $2.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 22nd that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Compass Point raised their price target on M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on M&T Bank from $205.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $223.50 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, M&T Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.68.

M&T Bank Company Profile

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.