1,209,119 Shares in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB Purchased by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 1.21 million shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding, valued at approximately $119.4 million, giving it a 9.75% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 79.83% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $105, although Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and UBS recently lowered their targets.
• Metropolitan Bank missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.54 in EPS versus $2.30 expected. The company nevertheless increased its quarterly dividend to $0.35 from $0.25, implying a 1.5% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,209,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $119,413,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 9.75% of Metropolitan Bank as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,268 shares of the company's stock worth $2,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,074 shares of the company's stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 854.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,747 shares of the company's stock worth $2,922,000 after purchasing an additional 37,374 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Metropolitan Bank

In related news, CFO Daniel F. Dougherty bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $89.98 per share, for a total transaction of $89,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 33,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,987,066.06. This represents a 3.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.42, for a total value of $181,458.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,229,524.84. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,897 shares of company stock worth $2,528,512. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Metropolitan Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Metropolitan Bank currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $105.00.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCB opened at $91.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 1-year low of $64.66 and a 1-year high of $102.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.49.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.76). Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 10.22%. The business had revenue of $93.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.39 million.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Metropolitan Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Metropolitan Bank's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.72%.

Metropolitan Bank Company Profile

Metropolitan Bank NYSE: MCB, through its principal subsidiary Metropolitan Commercial Bank, operates as a New York–based regional financial institution providing a range of commercial and consumer banking services. The company offers deposit products including checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as business and personal certificates of deposit. On the lending side, Metropolitan Bank extends commercial real estate financing, equipment loans, working capital lines of credit and consumer installment loans tailored to the needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises and individual customers.

In addition to traditional deposit and lending services, Metropolitan Bank provides specialized treasury and cash-management solutions, foreign exchange services and letters of credit for both domestic businesses and multinational clients.

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