Mackenzie Financial Corp Makes New Investment in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp invested approximately $352,000 in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp., acquiring 6,286 shares, amounting to 0.06% of the company's stock as of the last quarter.
• CEO Mark R. Defazio sold over 20,000 shares for approximately $1.34 million, decreasing his ownership by 17.89%, while company insiders have sold a total of $4.3 million in stocks over the past 90 days.
• Metropolitan Bank announced a stock buyback program worth $50 million and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $352,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.06% of Metropolitan Bank as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Metropolitan Bank by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 645,360 shares of the company's stock worth $37,689,000 after purchasing an additional 10,545 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Metropolitan Bank by 749.4% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 316,191 shares of the company's stock worth $17,704,000 after purchasing an additional 278,966 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Metropolitan Bank by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 291,235 shares of the company's stock worth $17,008,000 after purchasing an additional 41,449 shares during the period. Banc Funds Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC now owns 243,254 shares of the company's stock worth $14,206,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the 4th quarter worth $12,109,000. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

Shares of Metropolitan Bank stock traded up $0.60 on Monday, hitting $70.02. 50,166 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 100,714. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 1 year low of $42.92 and a 1 year high of $80.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $729.64 million, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.13.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 17th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Metropolitan Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 28th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Metropolitan Bank's payout ratio is presently 9.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Harvey Gutman sold 1,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total transaction of $109,774.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,638.63. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 20,517 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 transaction of $1,342,427.31. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 94,185 shares in the company, valued at $6,162,524.55. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,281 shares of company stock worth $4,299,933. 6.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCB. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st.

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.