Ledyard National Bank Has $5.35 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Ledyard National Bank lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MET traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $71.70. 3,966,855 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,534,419. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.84 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 113.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.