Simmons Bank Sells 215 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Simmons Bank lowered its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $318,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. CNB Bank grew its position in MetLife by 9.3% in the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 2.9% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.7% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MET. Citigroup boosted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

MetLife Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $75.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $72.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $79.34.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

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.