Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) Director Sells $109,774.00 in Stock

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) Director Harvey Gutman sold 1,400 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 18,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,469,638.63. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCB traded down $0.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.28. 20,030 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 102,551. The stock has a market capitalization of $781.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.08. The business's fifty day moving average is $68.97 and its 200-day moving average is $62.35. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a one year low of $40.21 and a one year high of $80.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 10.67% and a net margin of 13.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Metropolitan Bank declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 17th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Metropolitan Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Metropolitan Bank by 289.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 596 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the 1st quarter valued at $84,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $128,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.83% 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.