Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Metropolitan Bank Holding's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 12 shareholders
• Insiders have sold recently

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 74% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And last week, institutional investors ended up benefitting the most after the company hit US$609m in market cap. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 81%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Metropolitan Bank Holding.

See our latest analysis for Metropolitan Bank Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Metropolitan Bank Holding?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Metropolitan Bank Holding's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Metropolitan Bank Holding. FMR LLC is currently the company's largest shareholder with 9.0% of shares outstanding. With 8.3% and 6.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and Patriot Financial Manager, L.P. are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Mark DeFazio, the CEO has 0.9% of the shares allocated to their name.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 12 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Metropolitan Bank Holding

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp.. In their own names, insiders own US$29m worth of stock in the US$609m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 14% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 6.8%, private equity firms could influence the Metropolitan Bank Holding board. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks for example - Metropolitan Bank Holding has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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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.