InvesTrust Sells 2,006 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

InvesTrust trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 92,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,006 shares during the quarter. MetLife makes up 2.0% of InvesTrust’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. InvesTrust’s holdings in MetLife were worth $7,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in MetLife by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after purchasing an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in MetLife by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,687,000 after purchasing an additional 28,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 38,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,123,000 after acquiring an additional 13,690 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE MET opened at $78.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $52.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.29 and a 200-day moving average of $80.94.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.17.

About MetLife

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.