OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Lowers Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lowered its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,156 shares during the quarter. MetLife accounts for 1.0% of OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in MetLife by 109.2% in 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 during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in MetLife by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in MetLife by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,687,000 after purchasing an additional 28,848 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,913,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,430,000 after purchasing an additional 30,187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $78.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $52.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $77.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.36.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.