11,547 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Bought by NBT Bank N.A.

Key Points

• NBT Bank acquired 11,547 MetLife shares worth approximately $1.09 million during the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 94.99% of the company.
• MetLife exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.43 versus the $2.30 consensus, while revenue increased 10.5% year over year. The company also authorized a $3 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share, yielding about 2.4% annually.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with 13 Buy ratings and two Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $105.44.

NBT Bank N.A. bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,547 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,087,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $442,000. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 9.2% in the third quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 33,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,178,000 after buying an additional 2,839 shares during the period. Investment House LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth $210,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 6.0% during the third quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 21,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,991,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 486.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 516 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 4.5%

MET stock opened at $98.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $103.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.81. The firm has a market cap of $63.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buy back $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 3rd. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 45.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Piper Sandler upgraded MetLife from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $99.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.44.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc NYSE: MET is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, and employee benefits solutions to individuals, employers, and institutions. Its offerings include life insurance, dental and vision coverage, accident and disability insurance, annuities, retirement savings products, and related financial services.

Through its institutional and workplace businesses, MetLife helps employers provide benefits and retirement programs to their employees. The company also serves individual customers with protection and income products.

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