President Of Metropolitan Bank Holding Sold 47% Of Their Shares

We wouldn't blame Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Mark DeFazio, the President recently netted about US$5.1m selling shares at an average price of US$55.12. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 47%, which is notable but not too bad.

Check out our latest analysis for Metropolitan Bank Holding

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Metropolitan Bank Holding

Notably, that recent sale by Mark DeFazio is the biggest insider sale of Metropolitan Bank Holding shares that we've seen in the last year. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$54.10. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 2.28k shares for US$89k. But they sold 94.87k shares for US$5.2m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Metropolitan Bank Holding shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Metropolitan Bank Holding better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Metropolitan Bank Holding insiders own 5.7% of the company, worth about US$34m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Metropolitan Bank Holding Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for Metropolitan Bank Holding is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. On the plus side, Metropolitan Bank Holding makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Metropolitan Bank Holding you should be aware of.

But note: Metropolitan Bank Holding may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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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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