Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA Boosts Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in MetLife by 244.4% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 131.9% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $82.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.00. The firm has a market cap of $57.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.17.

MetLife Company 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.