MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 272 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Eley Financial Management Inc raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 16,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 3.6% in the third quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 61,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,083,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. 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 note on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.23.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.52. The company had a trading volume of 3,361,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,164,878. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.66 and its 200 day moving average is $67.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.03.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 71.48%.

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

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.