Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Price Target Raised to $95.00

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $81.00 to $95.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Separately, Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

MCB traded down $1.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $75.31. The company had a trading volume of 17,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,776. Metropolitan Bank has a twelve month low of $40.21 and a twelve month high of $80.20. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $68.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $802.80 million, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.08.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 10.67%. The company had revenue of $76.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metropolitan Bank declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 17th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often 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 will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Metropolitan Bank

In other news, Director Robert C. Patent sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.40, for a total value of $392,000.00. Following the sale, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Dixiana M. Berrios sold 6,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total transaction of $400,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $870,784. This represents a 31.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,824 shares of company stock worth $4,899,390 over the last ninety days. 6.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Metropolitan Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 669,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,470,000 after purchasing an additional 23,859 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 8.2% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 328,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,408,000 after purchasing an additional 24,982 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 749.4% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 316,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,704,000 after purchasing an additional 278,966 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 291,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,008,000 after acquiring an additional 41,449 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 11.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 272,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,263,000 after acquiring an additional 27,014 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.