Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Buys New Stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 210,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,776,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 11.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 5.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,367,000 after buying an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 39.2% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 854.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,922,000 after buying an additional 37,374 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

Metropolitan Bank stock opened at $91.24 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.99. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a twelve month low of $64.66 and a twelve month high of $102.04.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.76). The business had revenue of $93.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Metropolitan Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Metropolitan Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Metropolitan Bank from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Metropolitan Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Metropolitan Bank currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $105.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total value of $922,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 76,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,031,113.65. This trade represents a 11.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Daniel F. Dougherty bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $89.98 per share, with a total value of $89,980.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 33,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,066.06. This trade represents a 3.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,897 shares of company stock valued at $2,797,252. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Metropolitan Bank Profile

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB), through its principal subsidiary Metropolitan Commercial Bank, operates as a New York–based regional financial institution providing a range of commercial and consumer banking services. The company offers deposit products including checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as business and personal certificates of deposit. On the lending side, Metropolitan Bank extends commercial real estate financing, equipment loans, working capital lines of credit and consumer installment loans tailored to the needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises and individual customers.

In addition to traditional deposit and lending services, Metropolitan Bank provides specialized treasury and cash-management solutions, foreign exchange services and letters of credit for both domestic businesses and multinational clients.