MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stock Position Trimmed by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 471 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $72.23 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.28 and its 200-day moving average is $67.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.23.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by 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.