Assetmark Inc. Has $1.53 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Assetmark Inc. cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 78.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 69,827 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in MetLife by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 220,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,707,000 after purchasing an additional 31,207 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,445,000 after buying an additional 2,449 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 2.7% during the first quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter valued at approximately $593,000. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 206.7% in the first quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after acquiring an additional 7,037 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 3.7%

MetLife stock opened at $74.80 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.50 and a 200-day moving average of $79.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.09.

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.