Simmons Bank Sells 6,260 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Simmons Bank lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 45.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,260 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.9 %

MetLife stock traded up $0.63 on Wednesday, hitting $71.89. 1,413,757 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,530,066. The firm has a market cap of $51.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $74.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.65.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.48%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MET. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.