We'd be surprised if Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Harvey Gutman, recently sold US$269k worth of stock at US$89.58 per share. That sale was 16% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Metropolitan Bank Holding Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Founder, Mark DeFazio, sold US$2.9m worth of shares at a price of US$66.01 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$87.21. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 42% of Mark DeFazio's holding.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 2.17k shares worth US$163k. On the other hand they divested 92.27k shares, for US$6.9m. In total, Metropolitan Bank Holding insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Metropolitan Bank Holding Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 4.1% of Metropolitan Bank Holding shares, worth about US$46m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Metropolitan Bank Holding Insiders?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Metropolitan Bank Holding, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, Metropolitan Bank Holding makes money, and is growing profits. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

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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.

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.