Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 44,178 Shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) by 76.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,724 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,178 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Metropolitan Bank worth $768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 289.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $84,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $352,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

NYSE MCB opened at $77.46 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.60. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 12-month low of $47.08 and a 12-month high of $81.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $807.17 million, a P/E ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 1.16.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The business had revenue of $76.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Metropolitan Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 28th. Metropolitan Bank’s payout ratio is currently 9.72%.

Metropolitan Bank declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 17th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.67.

Insider Activity

In other Metropolitan Bank news, EVP Scott Lublin sold 5,000 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total transaction of $325,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,170.37. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Terence J. Mitchell sold 4,796 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $347,422.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,230 shares in the company, valued at $958,381.20. This represents a 26.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,446 shares of company stock worth $2,787,379. Company insiders own 6.09% of the company’s stock.

Metropolitan Bank Company Profile

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank that provides a range of business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, public entities, and individuals in the New York metropolitan area.