MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Holdings Trimmed by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank cut its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,656 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 4,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 30,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 14,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 9,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MET. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.17.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $83.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.02 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.71. The stock has a market cap of $57.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 20.01%. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

MetLife 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.