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

PSI Advisors LLC reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 23.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 309 shares during the quarter. PSI Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,687,000 after acquiring an additional 28,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,913,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,430,000 after acquiring an additional 30,187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $78.51 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $77.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.42. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $52.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.17.

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.