Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. by 76.3%, selling 44,178 shares, and now owns 13,724 shares valued at approximately $768,000.
• Metropolitan Bank's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations with a reported $1.76 EPS, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 and generating a revenue of $76.27 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share and initiated a $50 million share buyback program, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) by 76.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,724 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,178 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.13% of Metropolitan Bank worth $768,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCB. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 65,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 328,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,408,000 after purchasing an additional 24,982 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position 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. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,771,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

Metropolitan Bank stock traded down $2.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.93. 217,614 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 97,618. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 12-month low of $47.08 and a 12-month high of $81.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $801.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $74.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.81.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $72.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank Announces Dividend

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

Metropolitan Bank declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $82.67.

Insider Transactions at Metropolitan Bank

In other news, Director Dale C. Fredston sold 3,000 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.65, for a total transaction of $235,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,114,313.20. The trade was a 17.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.40, for a total transaction of $392,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 108,685 shares in the company, valued at $8,520,904. This represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,446 shares of company stock worth $2,787,379 over the last ninety days. 6.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.