Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 1,463 M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in M&T Bank during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in M&T Bank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in M&T Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in M&T Bank during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered M&T Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on M&T Bank from $160.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.48.

M&T Bank Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MTB opened at $152.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.27. M&T Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $108.53 and a 1 year high of $152.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.78.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.11). M&T Bank had a net margin of 19.52% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that M&T Bank Co. will post 13.92 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is 35.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at M&T Bank

In other news, Director Kirk W. Walters sold 28,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $4,182,525.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $923,215. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other M&T Bank news, EVP Doris P. Meister sold 1,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.91, for a total transaction of $230,999.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,235,811.51. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kirk W. Walters sold 28,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $4,182,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $923,215. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,020 shares of company stock valued at $11,533,507 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Company Profile

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.