MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Cut by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 181,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in MetLife were worth $13,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 114.7% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $70.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $56.13 and a one year high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis 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 of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Argus boosted their price target on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.23.

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.