Community Bank N.A. Has $1.22 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Community Bank N.A. grew its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 78.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,725 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.17.

MetLife Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.60 on Friday, hitting $79.15. 6,575,429 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,381,111. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.37 and a 200 day moving average of $80.28. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

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.