Atom Investors LP Makes New Investment in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Atom Investors LP bought a new position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 51,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,151,000. M&T Bank comprises approximately 1.0% of Atom Investors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of M&T Bank in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 worth $35,466,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797 shares during the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 493,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,959,000 after acquiring an additional 16,657 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 32,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,964,000 after acquiring an additional 12,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 268,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,761,000 after acquiring an additional 13,302 shares during the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MTB shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on M&T Bank from $188.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on M&T Bank from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup downgraded M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, M&T Bank presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $206.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Denis J. Salamone sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.03, for a total transaction of $1,720,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,902 shares in the company, valued at $7,724,491.06. The trade was a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rene F. Jones sold 23,071 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.88, for a total value of $4,473,005.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 77,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,972,576.88. The trade was a 23.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 92,504 shares of company stock worth $18,394,012. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

Shares of M&T Bank stock opened at $219.99 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $196.45 and a 200 day moving average of $172.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. M&T Bank Co. has a 12 month low of $125.61 and a 12 month high of $225.70.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.60 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. M&T Bank had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 17.82%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that M&T Bank Co. will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is presently 39.97%.

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.