First Hawaiian Bank Sells 1,106 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

First Hawaiian Bank decreased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,106 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 217,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,471,000 after purchasing an additional 21,051 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth $225,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 270,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,166,000 after purchasing an additional 15,479 shares during the period. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $16,359,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $77.93 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.61 and a 200 day moving average of $81.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.17.

About MetLife

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.