Cetera Trust Company N.A Sells 175 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Cetera Trust Company N.A trimmed its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. MetLife accounts for about 1.4% of Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.17.

MetLife Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of MET stock opened at $79.99 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.82.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.