Here is What Hedge Funds Think About M&T Bank Corporation (MTB)

M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) was in 23 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. MTB shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 23 hedge funds in our database with MTB holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are plenty of metrics shareholders can use to monitor stocks. Some of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see just how much).

Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are lots of reasons for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the key action encompassing M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB).

Hedge fund activity in M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB)

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 23 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Berkshire Hathaway, managed by Warren Buffett, holds the largest position in M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB). Berkshire Hathaway has a $555.2 million position in the stock, comprising 0.7% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $64.3 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Robert Pohly’s Samlyn Capital, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.

Since M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) has experienced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there was a specific group of money managers that slashed their entire stakes at the end of the first quarter. Intriguingly, Murray Stahl’s Horizon Asset Management dumped the largest investment of the 450+ funds we key on, worth about $5.3 million in stock., and Bart Baum of Ionic Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $3.9 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

Insider trading activity in M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB)

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time period, M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 9 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB). These stocks are Valley National Bancorp (NYSE:VLY), Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS), Susquehanna Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SUSQ), Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT), and Signature Bank (NASDAQ:SBNY). All of these stocks are in the regional – northeast banks industry and their market caps resemble MTB’s market cap.