Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,893 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 14.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,893 shares during the quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

MetLife Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:MET opened at $70.19 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.18 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.31 and a 200 day moving average of $70.10. The firm has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.