Spire Wealth Management Acquires New Stake in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $123,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in 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. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $87,959,000 after purchasing an additional 16,657 shares during the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

M&T Bank Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:MTB opened at $200.59 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. M&T Bank Co. has a 1-year low of $129.36 and a 1-year high of $225.70.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. M&T Bank had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 19.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.56 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

M&T Bank announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup cut M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $223.50 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.68.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total transaction of $537,566.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Tracy S. Woodrow sold 2,121 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,141 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,397 shares of company stock valued at $6,379,459. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.