MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Sunflower Bank N.A.

Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in MetLife by 602.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 72.6% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Up 1.8 %

MetLife stock traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.51. The company had a trading volume of 2,587,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,349,129. The company has a market capitalization of $59.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $85.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.71.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

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.