Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) insiders placed bullish bets worth US$1.0m in the last 12 months
It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp.'s (NYSE:MCB) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
See our latest analysis for Metropolitan Bank Holding
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Metropolitan Bank Holding
The President Mark DeFazio made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$496k worth of shares at a price of US$25.15 each. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$29.45. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.0m for 35.51k shares. On the other hand they divested 4.96k shares, for US$333k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Metropolitan Bank Holding insiders. Their average price was about US$28.56. These transactions show that insiders have confidence to invest their own money in the stock, albeit at slightly below the recent price. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Insiders At Metropolitan Bank Holding Have Bought Stock Recently
There has been significantly more insider buying, than selling, at Metropolitan Bank Holding, over the last three months. In total, 11 insiders bought US$830k worth of shares in that time. But insider Scott Lublin sold shares worth US$173k. Insiders have spent more buying shares than they have selling, so on balance we think they are are probably optimistic.
Insider Ownership
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Metropolitan Bank Holding insiders own 6.4% of the company, worth about US$21m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Metropolitan Bank Holding Insiders?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Metropolitan Bank Holding insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Metropolitan Bank Holding you should know about.
Of course Metropolitan Bank Holding may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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