Rhumbline Advisers Reduces Position in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Rhumbline Advisers cut its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,457 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,118 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.16% of Metropolitan Bank worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 289.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the first quarter worth approximately $84,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the first quarter worth approximately $218,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the first quarter worth approximately $352,000. 79.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Metropolitan Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.67.

Insider Transactions at Metropolitan Bank

In other news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.47, for a total value of $99,337.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,339 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,100.33. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.02, for a total transaction of $395,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 98,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,798,088.70. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,696 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,346. 6.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Metropolitan Bank Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Metropolitan Bank stock opened at $78.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 12-month low of $47.08 and a 12-month high of $81.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $822.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.30.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. Analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank Dividend Announcement

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

Metropolitan Bank announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, July 17th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Metropolitan Bank

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.