Arvest Trust Co. N A Sells 5,070 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Arvest Trust Co. N A lessened its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,070 shares during the quarter. Arvest Trust Co. N A’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MET. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $444,205,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 118.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,957,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,449 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $234,761,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in MetLife by 806.2% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,607,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in MetLife by 309.7% in the 1st quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,364,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,435,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,653,324. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $53.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 113.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MetLife from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 report on Monday, January 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.08.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

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.