Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 65,796 Shares of M&T Bank Corporation $MTB

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in M&T Bank Corporation by 34.5% during Q1, holding 125,137 shares valued at approximately $22.37 million.
• Other institutional investors increased their stakes, with Wellington Management Group raising its position by 33.1% and GAMMA Investing LLC boosting theirs by 18,471.2% during the same period.
• M&T Bank recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $1.35 to $1.50, marking a 3.0% yield based on a $6.00 annualized rate.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB - Free Report) by 34.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 65,796 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of M&T Bank worth $22,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in M&T Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in M&T Bank during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of M&T Bank by 104.6% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on M&T Bank from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. DA Davidson raised their target price on M&T Bank from $189.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $225.00 price target on M&T Bank and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.88.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other news, Director John P. Barnes sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.79, for a total transaction of $2,996,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,569,448.14. This trade represents a 45.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert E. Sadler, Jr. sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.52, for a total transaction of $1,229,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,233,806.40. This represents a 22.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,438 shares of company stock valued at $4,964,196 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

M&T Bank Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of M&T Bank stock traded up $1.08 on Friday, hitting $201.88. The company had a trading volume of 748,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,987. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $194.68 and a 200-day moving average of $183.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. M&T Bank Corporation has a twelve month low of $150.75 and a twelve month high of $225.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.63.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. M&T Bank had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 10.35%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.73 EPS. Research analysts predict that M&T Bank Corporation will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. M&T Bank's payout ratio is currently 34.97%.

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.