Royce & Associates LP Makes New Investment in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB)

Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 37,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,174,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Metropolitan Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $1,405,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, Salzhauer Michael raised its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 41,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after buying an additional 5,598 shares in the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCB opened at $55.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $620.60 million, a PE ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 1.17. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 52 week low of $32.46 and a 52 week high of $69.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.01 and its 200-day moving average is $58.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott Lublin sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.60, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dale C. Fredston sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total value of $62,270.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,100,186.36. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,088 shares of company stock worth $1,161,791. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.