SteelPeak Wealth LLC Decreases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

SteelPeak Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 70.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 70,905 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MET. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $70.19 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.18 and a 12 month high of $74.68.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

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

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.