MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by Community Bank N.A.

Community Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in MetLife by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,499,000 after acquiring an additional 99,328 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter valued at $1,074,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 12.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 44,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,945 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 127.5% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 96,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,986,000 after acquiring an additional 54,271 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter valued at $8,643,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Down 0.5 %

MetLife stock opened at $82.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $56.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.67. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted 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 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

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.