Invesco Ltd. Has $3.99 Million Position in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (MCB) by 145.1% in Q1, owning approximately 0.67% of the company worth $3.99 million.
• Metropolitan Bank recently reported earnings per share of $1.76, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has initiated a $50 million share repurchase plan, indicating a belief in the stock's undervaluation.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own nearly 80% of Metropolitan Bank's stock, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) by 145.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,207 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,156 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.67% of Metropolitan Bank worth $3,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Metropolitan Bank by 289.5% during 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 period. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in Metropolitan Bank during the 1st quarter worth $84,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,020 shares of the company's stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the first quarter worth about $352,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,239 shares of the company's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 23,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.43, for a total value of $1,512,349.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 94,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,162,524.55. This represents a 19.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.40, for a total value of $392,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 108,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,520,904. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,077 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,205. Corporate insiders own 6.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group raised their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $82.67.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MCB traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.49. 57,642 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,817. The company has a market cap of $828.32 million, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.13. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 52 week low of $47.08 and a 52 week high of $80.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.39. 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 (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $76.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.50 million. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 10.69%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Metropolitan Bank announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 17th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Metropolitan Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, July 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Metropolitan Bank's dividend payout ratio 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.