RNC Capital Management LLC Sells 288 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

RNC Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 288 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in MetLife by 5.3% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 119,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,884,000 after acquiring an additional 6,007 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in MetLife by 31.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 1,782 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 44.4% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 1,873 shares during the period. City Holding Co. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 39.5% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 8,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 15.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:MET opened at $83.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.02 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.71.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 5.27%. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.17.

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.