Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. Invests $57.23 Million in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Key Points

• Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought 764,884 shares (~$57.23 million) in the third quarter, owning roughly 7.43% of Metropolitan Bank and making the stock the fund's largest position (about 18.1% of its holdings).
• Recent results and shareholder returns: Metropolitan Bank beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.77 vs. $2.07; revenue $88.41M vs. $83.15M), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (annualized $0.80, ~1.0% yield), and has seen analyst upgrades to a consensus "Buy" with a ~$92 target.
• Insiders have been selling: company insiders sold 16,320 shares (~$1.52M) over the past three months, though insiders still own 6.09% of the stock; notable recent sales include Director Robert C. Patent and EVP Nick Rosenberg.

Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 764,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,229,000. Metropolitan Bank makes up approximately 18.1% of Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. owned approximately 7.43% of Metropolitan Bank at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 107.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 148,257 shares of the company's stock worth $10,378,000 after acquiring an additional 76,745 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 53.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 178,363 shares of the company's stock worth $13,345,000 after purchasing an additional 62,327 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC boosted its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 85.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 129,634 shares of the company's stock worth $9,074,000 after purchasing an additional 59,865 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 854.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,922,000 after buying an additional 37,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,198,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert C. Patent sold 4,445 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.28, for a total transaction of $410,184.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 84,240 shares in the company, valued at $7,773,667.20. The trade was a 5.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $112,762.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,330,936.19. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,320 shares of company stock valued at $1,523,103. Insiders own 6.09% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

MCB opened at $79.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.93 and a 200 day moving average of $79.39. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 52-week low of $47.08 and a 52-week high of $97.84. The stock has a market cap of $800.59 million, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.13.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.70. The company had revenue of $88.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $83.15 million. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 9.69%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 27th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from Metropolitan Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Metropolitan Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Metropolitan Bank from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Metropolitan Bank has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Metropolitan Bank Company Profile

Metropolitan Bank NYSE: MCB, through its principal subsidiary Metropolitan Commercial Bank, operates as a New York–based regional financial institution providing a range of commercial and consumer banking services. The company offers deposit products including checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as business and personal certificates of deposit. On the lending side, Metropolitan Bank extends commercial real estate financing, equipment loans, working capital lines of credit and consumer installment loans tailored to the needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises and individual customers.

In addition to traditional deposit and lending services, Metropolitan Bank provides specialized treasury and cash-management solutions, foreign exchange services and letters of credit for both domestic businesses and multinational clients.

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