EP Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 757 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $558,460,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,752,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,126,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,790,000 after purchasing an additional 746,643 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,090,000 after purchasing an additional 700,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,455,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $69.86 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.12. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.97 and a twelve month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.08.

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.