Bank of America Corp DE Boosts Holdings in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Metropolitan Bank stake by 611.9% in the first quarter, owning 141,613 shares worth approximately $11.8 million. Institutional investors collectively held 79.83% of MCB’s outstanding shares.
• Metropolitan Bank reported quarterly EPS of $1.54, missing the $2.30 consensus estimate, while revenue of $93.01 million was broadly in line with expectations. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.35, implying a 1.5% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but cautious: MCB has an average “Buy” rating and a $105 consensus price target, although several firms recently lowered their targets and one downgraded the stock to “Hold.”

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) by 611.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,613 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 121,721 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.14% of Metropolitan Bank worth $11,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 272.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,287 shares of the company's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,112 shares of the company's stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 6.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $1,033,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 92.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,949 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 8,639 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCB opened at $91.98 on Friday. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 1-year low of $64.66 and a 1-year high of $102.04. The stock's 50-day moving average is $95.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.63. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

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

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Metropolitan Bank

In other Metropolitan Bank news, Director Harvey Gutman sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.58, for a total transaction of $268,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,634,207.94. This represents a 14.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel F. Dougherty purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $89.98 per share, with a total value of $89,980.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 33,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,987,066.06. The trade was a 3.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,897 shares of company stock valued at $2,797,252. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Metropolitan Bank 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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