Institutional investors control 89% of M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) and were rewarded last week after stock increased 4.7%

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Institutions' substantial holdings in M&T Bank implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
The top 10 shareholders own 50% of the company
Insiders have sold recently
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Every investor in M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 89% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And last week, institutional investors ended up benefitting the most after the company hit US$31b in market cap. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 32%.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of M&T Bank.
View our latest analysis for M&T Bank
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in M&T Bank. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at M&T Bank's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. M&T Bank is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 8.3% of common stock, and Wellington Management Group LLP holds about 6.2% of the company stock.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 10 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Our information suggests that M&T Bank Corporation insiders own under 1% of the company. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own US$127m of stock. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 10% stake in M&T Bank. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks for example - M&T Bank has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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