MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 260,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,668 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $19,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 8.5% during the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 23,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,736,000 after buying an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 2.4% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 6.8% during the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 30.5% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.4 %

MetLife stock opened at $70.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.05. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.92 and a 52 week 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 net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. 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. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.08.

About MetLife

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.