Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) Stake Boosted by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP significantly increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp by 749.4% in the first quarter, investing approximately $17.70 million for a total of 316,191 shares.
• Metropolitan Bank reported earnings per share of $1.76 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.62, with total revenue hitting $76.27 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share and approved a $50 million share repurchase plan, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) by 749.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 316,191 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 278,966 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 2.86% of Metropolitan Bank worth $17,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 289.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 596 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $128,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MCB. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on 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 boosted their price objective on Metropolitan Bank from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st.

Insider Transactions at Metropolitan Bank

In related news, EVP Scott Lublin 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 $78.64, for a total value of $393,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,631,516.56. The trade was a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 20,517 shares of the business'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 $1,342,427.31. Following the completion of 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 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,531 shares of company stock valued at $4,699,933 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.09% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MCB traded up $0.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $73.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,369. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $40.21 and a fifty-two week high of $80.20. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $69.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.53. The company has a market capitalization of $778.87 million, a PE ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 1.08.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.67% and a net margin of 13.68%. The business 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 firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, July 28th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 28th.

Metropolitan Bank declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Metropolitan Bank Company 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.