Sapient Capital LLC Buys 182,417 Shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)

Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) by 9,754.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 184,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 182,417 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC owned approximately 0.11% of M&T Bank worth $34,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 2,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in M&T Bank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in M&T Bank by 329.2% in the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in M&T Bank by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of M&T Bank during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MTB shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on M&T Bank from $188.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on M&T Bank from $205.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, M&T Bank has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other M&T Bank news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,546,856.81. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Barnes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.45, for a total transaction of $4,349,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,715,126. This represents a 36.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,611 shares of company stock worth $5,354,777 in the last three months. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

M&T Bank Price Performance

MTB stock opened at $197.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.99. M&T Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $130.84 and a 1 year high of $225.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $197.10 and a 200 day moving average of $188.15. The company has a market cap of $32.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.79.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that M&T Bank Co. will post 16.56 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

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

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.