Intrust Bank NA Has $2.18 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Intrust Bank NA increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’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 directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MET. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of 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 shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.23.

MetLife Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MET traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $71.70. 3,559,269 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,522,797. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.22. The firm has a market cap of $51.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.48, a PEG ratio of 0.53 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 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is 113.66%.

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.