Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 10,302 Shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) by 12.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,362 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,302 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.71% of Metropolitan Bank worth $5,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 669,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,470,000 after buying an additional 23,859 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 8.2% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 328,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,408,000 after acquiring an additional 24,982 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Metropolitan Bank by 749.4% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 316,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,704,000 after purchasing an additional 278,966 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 272,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,263,000 after purchasing an additional 27,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 234,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,126,000 after purchasing an additional 27,088 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Terence J. Mitchell sold 4,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $347,422.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,230 shares in the company, valued at $958,381.20. This represents a 26.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,339 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,100.33. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,167 shares of company stock valued at $83,010 and have sold 24,671 shares valued at $1,858,653. 6.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Metropolitan Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Metropolitan Bank has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Metropolitan Bank Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MCB stock opened at $69.07 on Friday. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 1-year low of $47.08 and a 1-year high of $81.33. The company has a market cap of $711.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.24.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($1.28). The firm had revenue of $79.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.28 million. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 12.46%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metropolitan Bank declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 17th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Metropolitan Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 30th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Metropolitan Bank’s payout ratio is 10.42%.

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.