Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stock Holdings in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,502 shares of the company’s stock after selling 762 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Metropolitan Bank were worth $1,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 25,654 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 54.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 23,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 8,233 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $1,405,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew 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 buying an additional 5,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Metropolitan Bank by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCB opened at $48.83 on Wednesday. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 52 week low of $32.46 and a 52 week high of $69.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $57.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.03. The company has a market cap of $548.16 million, a P/E ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCB. Hovde Group increased 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Scott Lublin sold 5,000 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.60, for a total transaction of $273,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,729,344.80. The trade was a 9.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 15,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total value of $826,520.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,628 shares in the company, valued at $5,512,401.84. This trade represents a 13.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,088 shares of company stock worth $1,161,791. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

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.