Robert C. Patent Sells 5,000 Shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) Stock

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) Director Robert C. Patent sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.40, for a total transaction of $392,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 108,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,520,904. This represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

MCB traded down $1.43 on Friday, reaching $72.83. 78,030 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 126,033. The stock has a market cap of $776.35 million, a PE ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.08. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a twelve month low of $40.21 and a twelve month high of $80.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $69.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 28th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%.

Metropolitan Bank declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 17th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Metropolitan Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 669,219 shares of the company's stock worth $37,470,000 after acquiring an additional 23,859 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 328,774 shares of the company's stock worth $18,408,000 after acquiring an additional 24,982 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 749.4% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 316,191 shares of the company's stock worth $17,704,000 after acquiring an additional 278,966 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 291,235 shares of the company's stock worth $17,008,000 after acquiring an additional 41,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 272,605 shares of the company's stock worth $15,263,000 after acquiring an additional 27,014 shares during the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Hovde Group boosted 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.

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.