Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its shares in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. by 67.8%, ending the second quarter with 18,690 shares valued at $1,308,000.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus Moderate Buy rating for Metropolitan Bank, with price targets varying from $75.00 to $95.00 based on recent reports.
• The company recently announced a $50 million stock buyback plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,690 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,341 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.18% of Metropolitan Bank worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 1.3% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 289.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 596 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 7.5% in the first quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 9,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 11.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCB. 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 report on Monday, July 21st. 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 report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Metropolitan Bank currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.67.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Metropolitan Bank stock opened at $76.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 1 year low of $47.08 and a 1 year high of $81.33. The firm's 50-day moving average is $75.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.98. The stock has a market cap of $793.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 1.16.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $76.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 28th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 28th. Metropolitan Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.72%.

Metropolitan Bank declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 28,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,100.33. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Terence J. Mitchell sold 4,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $347,422.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $958,381.20. The trade was a 26.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,696 shares of company stock worth $2,430,346. Insiders own 6.09% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank 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.

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