MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 21.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 136,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,233 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $10,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 114.7% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.6 %

MetLife stock traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,894,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,355,020. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.70 and a twelve month high of $74.68. The firm has a market cap of $50.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MET. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.23.

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.