Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC Invests $12.60 Million in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Key Points

• Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC invested $12.60 million in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. by acquiring 225,072 shares, making it the 17th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Royce & Associates LP, have recently increased their stakes in Metropolitan Bank, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• The stock received an upgraded price objective from research firms, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target of $82.67, indicating positive analyst sentiment towards the bank's performance.

Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 225,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,602,000. Metropolitan Bank comprises 2.5% of Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC owned 2.11% of Metropolitan Bank as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCB. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,906 shares of the company's stock worth $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 63,442 shares of the company's stock worth $3,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 3,093 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 57,902 shares of the company's stock worth $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Metropolitan Bank

In other news, EVP Scott Lublin sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,631,516.56. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.40, for a total value of $392,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 108,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,520,904. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 81,077 shares of company stock valued at $5,642,155 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.09% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

NYSE MCB traded up $0.24 on Monday, hitting $79.71. 64,163 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 52,770. The business's fifty day moving average is $74.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.15. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 12 month low of $47.08 and a 12 month high of $81.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $830.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.16. 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 (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $76.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Metropolitan Bank Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.