Swiss National Bank Decreases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,998,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 94,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $132,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE MET opened at $70.52 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.03. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at MetLife

In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.