Welch & Forbes LLC Cuts Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Welch & Forbes LLC cut its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,410 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth $201,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in MetLife by 0.9% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 91,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,518,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth $246,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in MetLife by 2.3% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 145,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,142,000 after acquiring an additional 3,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 10.7% in the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.71. 572,879 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,520,908. The company has a market capitalization of $50.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.65. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.48%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MET. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.92.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.