Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Trims Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,300 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in MetLife were worth $564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in MetLife by 11.4% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter worth $225,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 179.7% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 540,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,957,000 after purchasing an additional 346,999 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 937.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 5,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 5,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 114.5% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. 88.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 5.0 %

MET opened at $52.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month high of $77.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.47.

MetLife (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.33). The business had revenue of $16.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 8th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.69%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 3rd that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MET. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. TheStreet downgraded shares of MetLife from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $79.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.25.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 2,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $202,732.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,471,008.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

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MetLife, Inc provides insurance and financial services to individual and institutional customers. It offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowner’s insurance and retail banking services to individuals as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services.