Fourthstone LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB)

Fourthstone LLC cut its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) by 25.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,702 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,348 shares during the quarter. Fourthstone LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Metropolitan Bank worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 82,922 shares of the company's stock worth $4,751,000 after buying an additional 25,654 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,819 shares of the company's stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 23,461 shares of the company's stock worth $1,233,000 after buying an additional 8,233 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,405,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 74.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,173 shares of the company's stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 3,497 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group increased their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

NYSE MCB opened at $53.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.92. The stock has a market cap of $600.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 52 week low of $32.46 and a 52 week high of $69.56.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.39. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.55%. Analysts forecast that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Scott Lublin sold 5,000 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.60, for a total transaction of $273,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,729,344.80. The trade was a 9.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 15,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total transaction of $826,520.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,512,401.84. The trade was a 13.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,088 shares of company stock worth $1,161,791. 6.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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