Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. Sells 681 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 58.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 681 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $36,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $70.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.18 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $71.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

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.