Trexquant Investment LP Invests $1.77 Million in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired 31,638 shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp., valued at approximately $1.77 million, making up 0.30% of the company's stock.
• Institutional investors, including Royce & Associates LP and Wellington Management Group LLP, have significantly increased their stakes in Metropolitan Bank, with Royce & Associates raising its position by 749.4% in the first quarter.
• Metropolitan Bank recently announced a stock repurchase program of $50 million and reported strong quarterly earnings, showing an EPS of $1.76, surpassing analyst estimates.

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 31,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,771,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.30% of Metropolitan Bank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 45.4% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 13,405 shares of the company's stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 4,187 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 7.5% during the first quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 9,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 13.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 234,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,126,000 after buying an additional 27,088 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 272,605 shares of the company's stock worth $15,263,000 after buying an additional 27,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 134,211 shares of the company's stock worth $7,514,000 after acquiring an additional 21,376 shares in the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Terence J. Mitchell sold 4,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $347,422.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,230 shares in the company, valued at $958,381.20. This trade represents a 26.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Harvey Gutman sold 1,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total value of $109,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,469,638.63. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 81,077 shares of company stock worth $5,642,155. Company insiders own 6.09% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCB traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $79.71. 64,163 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 95,742. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a twelve month low of $47.08 and a twelve month high of $81.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $830.53 million, a P/E ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $74.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.00.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $76.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.50 million. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 13.68%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 17th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Metropolitan Bank Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.