Simmons Bank Lowers Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Simmons Bank trimmed its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 680 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after buying an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in MetLife by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,799,000 after purchasing an additional 988,666 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,993,000 after purchasing an additional 269,246 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $226,358,000 after purchasing an additional 100,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,133,000 after buying an additional 485,811 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.46.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET opened at $82.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.05. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.61 and a 52-week high of $86.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.43.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.95%.

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.