M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) to Repurchase $4.00 billion in Shares

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 22nd, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

M&T Bank Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTB opened at $195.58 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.65. M&T Bank has a twelve month low of $128.31 and a twelve month high of $225.70.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $2.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that M&T Bank will post 16.56 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MTB shares. Citigroup cut shares of M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of M&T Bank from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Finally, Compass Point increased their price objective on M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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, M&T Bank has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Rene F. Jones sold 23,071 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.88, for a total transaction of $4,473,005.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,972,576.88. The trade was a 23.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Taylor sold 1,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.03, for a total transaction of $280,063.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,095,678.54. The trade was a 20.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,994 shares of company stock worth $13,331,878 over the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.