XTX Topco Ltd Purchases 5,442 Shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. by 62.8%, acquiring an additional 5,442 shares to own a total of 14,111 shares valued at approximately $790,000.
• Insider trading activity included Director Harvey Gutman selling 1,400 shares and CEO Mark R. Defazio selling 20,517 shares, indicating a decrease in their respective holdings.
• Metropolitan Bank announced a $50 million share buyback program and a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, reflecting confidence in the company’s value.

XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) by 62.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,111 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd owned about 0.13% of Metropolitan Bank worth $790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter worth about $352,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 749.4% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 316,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,704,000 after buying an additional 278,966 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at about $986,000. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 24,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 5,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salzhauer Michael increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 45,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,529,000 after buying an additional 3,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

Metropolitan Bank stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $68.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,178. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 12-month low of $42.92 and a 12-month high of $80.20. The company has a market capitalization of $712.64 million, a P/E ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $69.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.08.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 10.69%. 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 previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metropolitan Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 28th. Metropolitan Bank's payout ratio is 9.72%.

Metropolitan Bank announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCB has been the subject of several research reports. Hovde Group increased their price objective 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 increased their price objective on Metropolitan Bank from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Harvey Gutman sold 1,400 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,638.63. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Lublin sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.64, for a total transaction of $393,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 63,281 shares of company stock worth $4,299,933. Company insiders own 6.09% of the company's stock.

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.