Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Director Robert Patent Sells 5,000 Shares

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) Director Robert Patent sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $451,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 96,185 shares in the company, valued at $8,676,848.85. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

Metropolitan Bank stock opened at $90.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $97.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average is $88.23 and its 200 day moving average is $84.58.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.73. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $88.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.33 million.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Metropolitan Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Metropolitan Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCB. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Metropolitan Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Metropolitan Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCB. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,229,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 114.8% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 559,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,722,000 after acquiring an additional 299,061 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 66.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 592,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,266,000 after acquiring an additional 236,946 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 611.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 141,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,795,000 after buying an additional 121,721 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 53.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 178,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,345,000 after buying an additional 62,327 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

Metropolitan Bank Company 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.