Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) Stock Price

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $269.00 to $253.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MTB. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of M&T Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $223.50 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.03.

M&T Bank Price Performance

M&T Bank stock opened at $170.28 on Thursday. 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 has a 52-week low of $133.03 and a 52-week high of $225.70. The company has a market cap of $27.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $192.76 and its 200 day moving average is $191.77.

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 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that M&T Bank will post 16.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On M&T Bank

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 3,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the fourth quarter worth $101,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 16,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 20,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,944,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

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.