MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Pinion Investment Advisors LLC

Pinion Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 386 shares during the quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 408,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,838,000 after buying an additional 5,323 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 118.0% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 52.1% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,204 shares in the last quarter. Dohj LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 5.1% during the first quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 9,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.17.

MetLife Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $76.74 and its 200-day moving average is $80.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.