Dale Fredston Sells 2,000 Shares of Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Stock

Key Points

• Director Dale Fredston sold 2,000 Metropolitan Bank shares at an average price of $89.09, generating $178,180 and reducing his ownership by 12% to 14,668 shares.
• MCB recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.54, missing the $2.30 analyst consensus, while revenue of $93.01 million was slightly below estimates.
• The bank increased its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.35 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $1.40 and a 1.6% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with a $105 price target.

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) Director Dale Fredston sold 2,000 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.09, for a total transaction of $178,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,306,772.12. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

NYSE:MCB traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $89.06. 185,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,265. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.97. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 1-year low of $64.66 and a 1-year high of $102.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.95 and a 200 day moving average of $90.36.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.76). The company had revenue of $93.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.39 million. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 10.22%.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Metropolitan Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Metropolitan Bank's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCB. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Metropolitan Bank by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,026 shares of the company's stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Metropolitan Bank by 24.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Metropolitan Bank by 16.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Metropolitan Bank Company Profile

Metropolitan Bank is the bank holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1999, the bank provides banking and financial services to businesses, nonprofit organizations, public entities, entrepreneurs and individual customers.

Its offerings include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate and multifamily loans, residential lending, business and consumer deposit accounts, treasury management, cash-management services and private banking.

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