17,615 Shares in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) Acquired by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. has made a new investment of approximately $986,000 in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp., acquiring 17,615 shares during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors own approximately 79.83% of Metropolitan Bank's stock, highlighting strong interest in the company from various financial entities.
• The Metropolitan Bank recently declared a quarterly $0.15 per share dividend and announced a stock buyback program of up to $50 million, indicating confidence in the company's market position.

Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 17,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $986,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.16% of Metropolitan Bank as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 645,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,689,000 after purchasing an additional 10,545 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 291,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,008,000 after purchasing an additional 41,449 shares in the last quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $14,206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,109,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 1,726.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 149,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,718,000 after purchasing an additional 141,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MCB traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.92. The company had a trading volume of 15,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,741. The company has a market capitalization of $734.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.94. 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 12-month low of $40.21 and a 12-month high of $80.20.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $76.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.50 million. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 10.67%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 28th. Metropolitan Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.72%.

Metropolitan Bank announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 17th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Metropolitan Bank

In other news, Director Harvey Gutman sold 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total value of $109,774.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,638.63. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 23,114 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.43, for a total transaction of $1,512,349.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 94,185 shares in the company, valued at $6,162,524.55. This represents a 19.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,281 shares of company stock valued at $4,299,933. 6.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.