Ledyard National Bank Sells 4,826 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Ledyard National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,826 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in MetLife by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,427,000 after buying an additional 6,213,923 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in MetLife by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,931,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $973,901,000 after purchasing an additional 158,107 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in MetLife by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $577,434,000 after purchasing an additional 958,458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $79.69 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.50 and its 200 day moving average is $80.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.17.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.