M&T Bank Corporation $MTB Stake Raised by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP significantly increased its stake in M&T Bank Corporation, growing its holdings by 402.2% in the first quarter, now owning 69,828 shares valued at approximately $12.48 million.
• M&T Bank recently announced a dividend increase to $1.50 per share, up from $1.35, resulting in a 3.1% annualized yield, with a payout ratio of 38.86%.
• Analysts are optimistic, with the stock receiving a "Moderate Buy" average rating, and price targets ranging from $185.00 to $230.00 set by various financial institutions.

Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in shares of M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB - Free Report) by 402.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 55,923 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in M&T Bank were worth $12,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MTB. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the fourth quarter worth approximately $251,000. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in M&T Bank by 66.8% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,427 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 4,575 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in M&T Bank by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in M&T Bank by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 453,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,342,000 after purchasing an additional 17,431 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in M&T Bank by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at M&T Bank

In related news, Director Robert E. Sadler, Jr. sold 6,700 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.52, for a total transaction of $1,229,584.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,070 shares in the company, valued at $4,233,806.40. The trade was a 22.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter D'arcy sold 2,461 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.31, for a total transaction of $485,579.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,838,731.89. This represents a 20.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,438 shares of company stock worth $1,967,346 over the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

Shares of MTB traded up $7.1850 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $199.6150. 1,111,448 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,357. M&T Bank Corporation has a 1-year low of $150.75 and a 1-year high of $225.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business's 50 day moving average price is $192.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.54.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.24. M&T Bank had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that M&T Bank Corporation will post 16.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from M&T Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. M&T Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $225.00 price objective on shares of M&T Bank and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of M&T Bank in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of M&T Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $212.88.

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: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Institutional Services and Wealth Management, and All Other.