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

Ledyard National Bank trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund 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.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in MetLife by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 11,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank increased its stake in MetLife by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in MetLife by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6%

MET opened at $79.69 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.20. The company has a market capitalization of $53.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly 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). MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a $0.5675 dividend. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.