Invesco Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings 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% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,207 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,156 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.67% of Metropolitan Bank worth $3,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCB. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,511 shares of the company's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 291,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,008,000 after purchasing an additional 41,449 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares in the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Down 0.2%

Metropolitan Bank stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.84. The company had a trading volume of 45,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,031. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $73.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.71. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 12 month low of $47.08 and a 12 month high of $80.46. The company has a market capitalization of $821.59 million, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.16.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 13.68%.The firm had revenue of $76.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed 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. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 28th. Metropolitan Bank's dividend payout ratio is 9.72%.

Metropolitan Bank announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 17th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Metropolitan Bank

In related news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total transaction of $93,812.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 29,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,220,654.45. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Lublin sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.64, for a total value of $393,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,631,516.56. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,077 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,205 in the last 90 days. 6.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.