Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Raises Position in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) by 176.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 607,805 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 388,200 shares during the period. Metropolitan Bank comprises approximately 1.6% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned about 5.43% of Metropolitan Bank worth $31,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 70.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 784 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 18,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Metropolitan Bank in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salzhauer Michael raised its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 2.3% in the second quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 38,100 shares of the company's stock worth $1,604,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.14, for a total transaction of $68,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,733,767.02. The trade was a 3.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $55,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 79,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,377,637.56. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,973 shares of company stock worth $291,024. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

Shares of MCB traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $66.61. 40,808 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 93,870. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $58.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $746.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.12. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 12-month low of $32.46 and a 12-month high of $69.56.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $71.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.70 million. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 12.47%. Research analysts expect that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group upped their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $65.50 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

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.