WASHINGTON TRUST Co Purchases New Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MetLife

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

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $74.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.88 and a 200-day moving average of $65.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.23.

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.