Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB Shares Purchased by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. by 8.2%, now owning 3.08% of the company valued at approximately $18.4 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Metropolitan Bank, with the price target estimated at $82.67, following recent upgrades from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Hovde Group.
• Metropolitan Bank recently announced a share repurchase program totaling $50 million, indicating potential undervaluation of its stock.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 328,774 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,982 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 3.08% of Metropolitan Bank worth $18,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at about $84,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at about $352,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Scott Lublin sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.64, for a total value of $393,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,631,516.56. This represents a 9.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 20,517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.43, for a total value of $1,342,427.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 94,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,162,524.55. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,077 shares of company stock worth $5,642,155. Corporate insiders own 6.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MCB. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Metropolitan Bank currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $82.67.

Metropolitan Bank Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Metropolitan Bank stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $79.71. 64,163 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 52,770. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $830.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.41 and a 200-day moving average of $65.15. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 52-week low of $47.08 and a 52-week high of $81.33.

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

Metropolitan Bank announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Metropolitan Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, July 28th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 28th. Metropolitan Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.72%.

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.